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This journal is about raising identical twins.Eightieth Month
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Saturday, Mar 6, 2004 (6y+7m)
The twins are 79 months old today.We all went to bed early last night. Daddy set the alarm clock to go off at 4:30am. But I erroneously set the time for weekdays only. The alarm clock didn't come on on the weekend. We woke up at 4:48am. After some struggle, we actually got out of bed at 5am. We got ourselves ready and left home at 5:40am. We stopped for breakfast at a McDonald at around 6:30am. We asked the twins to take a nap in their car seats after breakfast. We arrived at Ski Boreal at Tahoe at around 9am.
After we got through all the equipment rental and paper work, it was 10:45am. Mommy joined a ski lesson because she had not skied for over 7 years. The twins followed daddy up the chairlift to the top of a bunny slope. Joanne did well and followed daddy in making turns and descended the slope in controlled speed. Jasmine failed to control her turns and just went straight down the slope. She panicked and tumbled before stopping. She was mad at daddy because she couldn't make the turns to slow down her speed. She said she didn't want to ski anymore. That was it. After 5 hours of driving plus waiting in line for equipment and spending $140 in tickets and rentals, she quitted after half a run. Since mommy was in ski lesson, daddy could not just leave Jasmine alone and ski with Joanne. So two of us standing at the bottom of the slope waiting while Jasmine was on strike. After about half an hour of doing nothing, we found where mommy was. We moved to the outskirt of the ski school area. We just sat there to watch mommy took her lesson. Joanne built a tiny snowman. Jasmine helped her to find some pine needles to decorate it.
When mommy finished her first part of her lesson, her instructor took the students to the chairlift. Daddy and Joanne followed mommy, Jasmine had no choice but to follow. This time daddy held out the ski poles horizontally in front, Jasmine grabbed the middle of the poles and skied down the slope in between daddy's skis. Daddy showed her how to turn and how the successive turns slowed down the skis. We skied down the slope in well controlled speed. In the next run, Jasmine wanted to ski on her own at the bottom half of the run. In the next run, Jasmine didn't even wait for daddy and went down the slope on her own. Regardless of her new confidence, she still couldn't link her turns. So in most of her runs, she just sped down the slope. She fell down several times, she didn't like it.
It was overcast in the morning. But the sun came out later on. It got so hot that we were all sweating under our jackets. After lunch, we took off layers of clothings and put them in the car. Mommy and daddy skied without our jackets. Daddy actually skied in a short sleeve polo shirt and still sweated under the hot sun. Mommy found later that she got a sunburn on her neck despite the sunblock lotion we put on. Daddy's nose and forehead also got a slight sunburn.
By half past three, Jasmine said she didn't like to ski anymore. Since the chairlifts would close in half an hour, we decided to stop early. We returned all the rental equipment, filled our gas tank and was on our way home at around 4:30pm. The twins took a 2 hours nap on the way. We stopped by a restaurant to pick up some takeout dinner. We were home before 8pm. After dinner, the twins took shower and practiced some piano before going to bed. We all went to bed early to recuperate from the long trip today.
Today was the first one-day ski trip we've ever taken with the twins. It worked out quite well, though the driving was quite tiring. We knew that Rachel's daddy took her on one-day ski trips many times already. That explained why Rachel's skiing skill had advanced so fast. Joanne did very well, she actually had better control on the skis than mommy had. Jasmine still needed a lot of practice. In my opinion, she simply needed to listen to instructions first.
When we left home in the morning, the twins admired the beautiful full moon setting. On the way home in the evening, the twins admired the beautiful full moon rising.
I posted a photo album for today's trip to our collections.
Sunday, Mar 7, 2004 (6y+7m+1d)
We tried to sleep late to recover from yesterday's one-day ski trip. The twins made a lot of noise in the morning in their room. They were chatting, laughing loudly. Daddy went to their room to ask them to keep the noise down at 10am. I closed their bedroom door and ours. We got another half an hour of sleep until the twins barged into our room, jumped into our bed. They tickled each other. They said some sweet things. Joanne explained that Jasmine didn't like daddy teaching her skiing. So Joanne would like daddy if Jasmine didn't like daddy. They were so noisy in our bed that we had to get up at 11am.Mommy spent the morning cleaning the inside of the car. The floor mats were muddy because of the ski trip yesterday. Jasmine rode her bicycle and Joanne rode her scooter on the drive way. Jasmine got pretty good in balancing her bike without the training wheels. She used the brake better now. She said when she was scared of bumping into something, then she would forget to use the brake.
We went to the Great Mall for lunch. Mommy also bought some pants and shoes for the twins and a pair of ski boots for herself. The twins complained that mommy took to long to choose her boots. They didn't know it took awhile to find a pair that fits well.
We returned home for a quick dinner. The twins visited their favorite myscene.com on the Internet. After we read the bedtime story, the twins wanted daddy to measure their height. They grew half an inch last month, though they didn't grow the month before.
Monday, Mar 8, 2004 (6y+7m+2d)
The twins went to school as usual.In the afternoon, mommy and the twins rode their bikes to the park. Mommy had not ridden her bike for years. Jasmine was pretty good at her riding skill by now. However, Joanne complained that Jasmine often lost control and bumped into her.
After dinner, Joanne made Jasmine cry. Jasmine said Joanne bit her on her arm and it hurt. Since there was no teeth mark, the bite was not serious. Jasmine does not forgive Joanne when Joanne apologized. We finished the "Just like Lizzie" book for bedtime story.
Tuesday, Mar 9, 2004 (6y+7m+3d)
The twins went to school as usual.They went to see the dentist. The twins did look forward to see the dentist because they have brushed their teeth very clean recently. They had white smiles because they brushed off all the stain at the front. Jasmine asked what the dentist would do because her teeth were so clean that they didn't need anymore cleaning. They were disappointed to learn from the dentist that they both have cavities at the back of their teeth. The twins loved candies like other kids. We asked them to brush well after eating candy, but they didn't always follow the rules. The finding of cavities was a wake up call for them.
They watched "Spy kids 3-D -- Game Over" before dinner. I asked them if the 3D eyeglasses made their eyes tired. They said no, but Joanne said tears ran off her eyes when she watched the movie. The red and green 3D glasses did strain the eyes. They watched the movie with so much enthusiasm that they were not aware of the eye strain. The twins liked the movie because of the cool 3D effects.
We read Don Freeman's "Corduroy" for bedtime story.
Wednesday, Mar 10, 2004 (6y+7m+4d)
The twins went to school as usual.When mommy picked up the twins from school, Joanne tried to tell mommy something. Jasmine sealed Joanne's mouth with her palm. Mommy took the twins to their abacus and piano class. Mommy asked Jasmine what she tried to hide. Jasmine made mommy promise not to be mad at her before she would tell. Then she said a classmate of her took her eyeglasses and lost them. Mommy was mad, but she couldn't because she promised not to. So she explained patiently to Jasmine that she should not have hidden the news from mommy. Mommy could have returned to the school to find it when the twins were in piano class. When mommy learned about the lost glasses, it was late and everyone in the school had gone home.
We read Don Freeman's "A pocket for Corduroy" for bedtime story.
Thursday, Mar 11, 2004 (6y+7m+5d)
The twins went to school as usual. Mommy went to the school office. Jasmine's glasses were in the lost and found. It turned out that Jasmine classmate took her glasses. Then she put them down somewhere when she was distracted. When she went back to where she left them, someone had already took them to the office. That meant the glasses were in the office before the twins left school. If Jasmine didn't hide the news from mommy, she would have gotten back the glasses before their abacus class.William came back from Hong Kong on a short business trip. They had completely moved out of California and no longer needed to pay state income tax. They couldn't stay in California for more than 35 days or else they had to pay income tax to California regardless where they worked. Lillian didn't come along to prevent using up her quota. Ken and Julia invited William and our family to dinner at their home. Of course, the twins loved to play with Michelle and they disappeared into Michelle's room as soon as they entered the house. The kids had their dinner first. The adults had dinner and chatted after the kids resumed their play. Jasmine got herself all wet by playing water balloons in the bathroom. The window of the bathroom was wide open, Jasmine was so cold that her nose was running when mommy found her.
All the kids stayed up late because the entire school district would take a day off tomorrow for teacher learning. We left our host after midnight. We skipped bedtime story for tonight.
Friday, Mar 12, 2004 (6y+7m+6d)
There was no school. It was a teacher learning day.In the morning, Nicholas, Patricia, Annette and their moms came to our home. They carpooled to Oakland zoo. They got there before the zoo opened at 10am. Their classmate Ansel and his mom joined them at the zoo.
There was a kid's amusement park outside the zoo. The twins were only 45.5" tall. All kids below 48" needed to be accompanied by an adult on the rollercoaster. Annette was tall enough to ride on her own. Mommy sat with Jasmine and Jill sat with Joanne. Joanne found it fun when her chaperon screamed on the rollercoaster.
They watched the animals in the zoo. The kids called the animals by the corresponding cartoon characters' names. For example, they called the warthog Pumba and the meerkat Timon as in the "Lion King". The twins and Annette fought for Ansel's attention and the privilege to sit next to him. Poor Nicholas received few attention from the girls except his own sister Patricia.
They were back by 3pm after a late lunch along the way. The twins slept for 3 hours in the afternoon after they got home. They practiced piano and did homework in the evening.
We read "In the forest" for bedtime reading.
Saturday, Mar 13, 2004 (6y+7m+7d)
After we had lunch, we went out to ice skating. Joanne was good sport and tried everything that daddy taught her. When she fell, her facial expression really showed her pain. But she put on a smile and got up to try again. Jasmine gave up after her first fall. She got mad of daddy because I didn't want her to hang on to me. She didn't want to balance on her own. After a short time out, she was bored and came out to the ice again. She just wanted to walk the way she wanted to. She didn't try the duck walk and gliding daddy suggested.
Sunday, Mar 14, 2004 (6y+7m+8d)
After lunch, we went grocery shopping. In the afternoon, Nicholas, Annette and Sean's families came to our place for a Farewell party for Nicholas' dad. He changed job and will return to Taiwan for his work. Nicholas' family will also move back to Taiwan in the summer when the school term wraps up.The kids had a great time playing in the backyard and then inside the house when it got dark. The adults surround the BBQ grill and chatted until the fire died off. Annette's 2 year old brother Alex used our guest room carpet for his potty training. I just hope the stench will not show in the summer.
Monday, Mar 15, 2004 (6y+7m+9d)
After dropping the twins off at school, mommy went to the dentist for a filling done. She got two cavities since last checkup.In the afternoon after school, Jasmine had one of her four cavities filled. She cried during the operation. But when we asked if she was in pain, she was not.
Tuesday, Mar 16, 2004 (6y+7m+10d)
The twins went to school as usual. In the afternoon, it was Joanne's turn to fill one of her three cavities. She later told daddy that she didn't cry because it was not painful and she was not scared. She emphasized that she was not like Jasmine.
Wednesday, Mar 17, 2004 (6y+7m+11d)
The twins went to school as usual. They went to abacus and piano class after school.Jasmine had a cough and runny nose.
Thursday, Mar 18, 2004 (6y+7m+12d)
The twins went to school as usual. The Toyota dealer called us, the Prius that we ordered has arrived. We completed the paper during lunch time while the twins was still in school. The dealer needed several hours to prepare the car for delivery.Mommy took the twins to the public library. When it was time for mommy to return to the dealership, the twins didn't want to leave. They were upset that their library visit was cut short. They rather to read more book than to see our new car.
Friday, Mar 19, 2004 (6y+7m+13d)
The twins went to school as usual. They had a test at school today. They received a report card for their 2nd trimester today. They were doing quite well with good progress. They looked quite tired after dinner. Mommy sent them to bed at 7pm.
Saturday, Mar 20, 2004 (6y+7m+14d)
As predicted, when the twins went to bed early, they got up early the next morning. They got up and played in their room since 7am.Before lunch, the twins planned to go to the playground. After lunch, they were so tired that mommy sent them home to take a nap at 2pm. At 4pm, Annette's mom called to see why the twins didn't show up at the park. We tried to wake up the twins but they didn't want to. They slept till 7pm. Their sleep cycle were all upset.
Sunday, Mar 21, 2004 (6y+7m+15d)
The twins woke up early again. Mommy took them to the park on their bikes. They were all done before daddy got up from bed.Mommy went to the hair salon in the morning. Daddy spend the morning getting the old car ready for sale. The twins rode their bikes again on the driveway. They also surfed on the Internet and printed some picture from myscene.com.
In the afternoon, we went to Aunt Tina's place. Daddy was not feeling well and took a nap on the sofa. The twins played Monopoly with cousin Natalie and Uncle Ivan. We returned home after dinner. The twins felt asleep in the car. We woke them up to take a shower. They went to bed after that.
Monday, Mar 22, 2004 (6y+7m+16d)
The twins went to school as usual. Jasmine told daddy that in PE class, she was the only one managed to throw the basketball into the basket. Joanne said when she play soccer, the ball was kicked far away so that she could kick it many times before it got back to the other players.The twins were tired and fell asleep on the way home. Mommy left them in the garage for their nap. Jasmine got up, sneaked upstairs, changed into her pajama and slept in her bed. Mommy went out to the garage and check on the twins and found Jasmine missing. Jasmine thought it was funny when mommy thought someone kidnapped Jasmine.
Tuesday, Mar 23, 2004 (6y+7m+17d)
The twins went to school as usual. Mommy and Jasmine saw the dentist again for their cavities. Jasmine filled 2 cavities she still had one more to do soon. She told daddy that she didn't cry this time. Since Joanne didn't cry, she raised the bar higher for Jasmine.
Wednesday, Mar 24, 2004 (6y+7m+18d)
The twins went to school as usual. They went to piano and abacus class after school. We had Japanese dinner with Nicholas' and Annette's family. The restaurant had several fish tanks and one of them had several clown fish. The kids crowded around the tank to see Nemo after dinner.
Thursday, Mar 25, 2004 (6y+7m+19d)
The twins went to school as usual.
Friday, Mar 26, 2004 (6y+7m+20d)
The twins went to school as usual. Mommy took the twins to dinner with her high school friend Sunnie and Michelle. Sunnie just found out that she was pregnant at 27 week gestation. The surprise was that the doctor found two heartbeats in the sonogram. Sunnie had mixed feelings because she already had a son. Having three children was not what they planned for. Daddy went home and cook dinner for one. When they came home, the twins fell asleep in the car. Mommy carried Joanne into her bed. Jasmine was able to walk on her own. Both of them didn't brush their teeth before bed. That was bad especially when they still had cavities in their mouth.
Saturday, Mar 27, 2004 (6y+7m+21d)
The twins woke up early and they made a lot of noise in their room. We went to the park to watch Nicholas play his baseball game. The twins brought along their bikes and they didn't watch the game at all. We went to lunch with Nicholas' family afterwards.We came home after lunch. The twins did their home work and practiced piano. Mommy went out shopping on her own. Daddy stayed home babysitting.
Sunday, Mar 28, 2004 (6y+7m+22d)
In the afternoon, we went to visit Terence. We went to a park nearby. When we returned, Hing already set up a BBQ on his balcony. We had a great dinner of beef, fish and seafood. We watched a movie before we left. The twins were ready to sleep before they reached home.
Monday, Mar 29, 2004 (6y+7m+23d)
The twins went to school as usual. Mommy went to the dentist to redo three of her old fillings. After school, Jasmine had her last cavity filled.
Tuesday, Mar 30, 2004 (6y+7m+24d)
The twins went to school as usual.
Wednesday, Mar 31, 2004 (6y+7m+25d)
The twins went to school as usual. They went to piano and abacus class after school.
Thursday, Apr 1, 2004 (6y+7m+26d)
The twins went to school as usual. Sunnie and her son Ryan visited in the afternoon. They stayed for dinner. The twins and Ryan watched "Brother Bear" after dinner.Daddy bought Mike Myer's "Cat in the Hat" DVD. It came with junior novel. The twins wanted to read it as bed time story. We read chapter one. We put the other book in hiatus.
Friday, Apr 2, 2004 (6y+7m+27d)
The twins went to school as usual. Terence came to our house in the late afternoon. His parents had a social function and Terence was excited to stay over with the twins.Daddy's cousin's Allen and his family took a week long field trip to Sacramento during the spring break. They stopped over at our place for one night before they headed back to Los Angeles. Our twins are very excite to see their cousin Amanda and Andric. Terence was very happy to play with a big boy too. Grandma Chui and Aunt Elaine also joined us for dinner. They watched the cat in the hat movie. The kids stayed up quite late. We withdrew from our master bedroom and put all 5 kids into it.
We read chapter 2 of the Cat in the Hat as bedtime story.
Saturday, Apr 3, 2004 (6y+7m+28d)
We got up at around 9am. The kids slept in and didn't come down for breakfast until 10am. Hing and Lucy picked up Terence. Lucy was kind of disappointed when Terence didn't run to her for a big hug. It just showed that Terence had a good time sleeping over.We went out to lunch with grandma Chui and Aunt Elaine in the afternoon. When we got back home, mommy left for Mrs. Montgomery's baby shower. Mrs. Montgomery was the twins' teacher last year. They were rather disappointed when no kid was invited to the baby shower. The kids played some tagging games with the cousins in the garage. The cousins left of LA at around 3:30pm.
Daddy sent the twins to take a nap in preparation for a dinner party later in the evening. Jasmine fell asleep quickly, but Joanne was tossing and turning. She even came downstairs to check if the guests had arrived. She didn't take her nap.
Peter, Yulin and their kids Maddie and Cameron arrived first at 4:30pm. Henry, Sherry and their son Aden came after 5pm. Henry's family moved back to Hong Kong few months ago to start some business. They came back for a short visit and we took this opportunity to throw a dinner party for them.
The kids played in the backyard until it was getting too cold when the Sun began to set. Mommy prepared some udon noodles for the kids. The kids were fed before the adults enjoyed a hotpot dinner. The kids gathered at the family drawing picture in front of the TV. A cartoon movie was played on the TV, but the kids were too busy to pay attention to it. The guests left at around 11pm.
We read chapter three for bedtime story.
Sunday, Apr 4, 2004 (6y+7m+29d)
The daylight saving time started today. We lost one hour of sleep. Mommy put breakfast on the table and returned to sleep. The twins did their homework in the morning while we slept in until noon. When we got up, the twins were all done with the work and practiced piano too. They played and rode their bicycles in the backyard in the afternoon. We stayed home all day.Lillian came to dinner in the evening. She moved back to Hong Kong a year ago. She needed to come back to take car of such business matters. We wanted to have dinner with her before she leaves again in a few days. She said the twins has grown a lot. We didn't notice the difference because we see the twins everyday.
Since it was late and the twins had school in the morning, the twins agreed to read just one page of chapter 4 of the book for bedtime story.
Monday, Apr 5, 2004 (6y+7m+30d)
The twins went to school as usual. They did homework and practice piano as usual.We read chapter 4 of the Cat in the Hat for bedtime story.
Tuesday, Apr 6, 2004 (6y+8m)
The twins are 6 and 2/3 years old today.
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started on April 5, 2004