talkin'

Aria's watching Bambi II right now. This is the conversation that took place:

Me: Where's Bambi's mamma?
Aria: Bambi's mamma died. Bambi's sad.
Me: What happens if your mamma dies? Are you going to be sad too?
Aria: Yes. Then I'm going to get another mamma.
Me: Oh really?
Aria: Yes, a purple mamma.


hmm.... interesting.

Playdate in Valencia

We just came back from a late morning playdate at my new friend Mami's house. I met her through one of my mommy & me classes and this was the first time that I've been invited to her house. She lives 18 miles away so it took us at least a half an hour to get there. She has a big collection of pets, more than us. She has a black lab, 2 turtles, 3 white mice and a rabbit. Aria loved playing with one of the turtles. The other one was hiding so we never saw it out. The boys played well together but Aria didn't want to join in their fun. She'll much rather hang out with the turtle. Go figure. At least I don't have to worry about her going boy-crazy for a while.

Checking out the mice.

Aria and the turtle checking each other out.

Giving the turtle a pat on the shell.

The kids: Aria, Nathaniel, Joshua.

We stopped off at Nick-N-Willy's on the way home so I can pick up dinner. My sister turned me on to the whole take-n-bake pizza thing. I had one at her house while on vacation and it was surprisingly delicious. So today, I decided to pick up a large meat lovers pizza and bake it for dinner. I also picked up a small pizza for myself and Aria to eat for lunch. Yum-mie. I got to go there more often.

Waiting for our pizzas.

I <3 Ikea.

One of the stores that we checked out in Sactown was the new Ikea that just opened up there. My sister's house is literally 5 mins away from it. We did their breakfast deal and shopped for another 4 hours. Let's just say we were there a long time. We got some great design ideas (I don't know if they'll ever get implimented but they're in my noggin). Boy, if I had a own a truck, I would be buying up alot of their stuff. Maybe it's a blessing that I don't drive one or A. will freak out with the clutter. I still love Ikea. I think Aria agrees with me too.

Aria in a pile of sheepskin coverings.

Highlights of vacation.

Our vacation was awesome. We visited my sister and her BF at their new house in Sacramento. She made my visit great by scheduling everything and simply taking us everywhere. It was really fun hanging out with her because we did things we both love doing ie: shopping and eating! Yes, we ate alot, (2 buffet places in 3 days!) but I don't feel the least bit guilty because the company was great. I miss my sister and her BF already.

Here's Aria in her seat, ready for take off.

One of the places that we visited was Fairytale Town in Sacramento. I've never been there even though I grew up in Sactown. Sad huh? I was really neat to be able to experience it with Aria and my little sis. Fairytale Town is an older theme park based on classical fairy tales and fables like 'Old Woman and the Shoe', 'Jack and the Beanstalk', 'King Arthur's Castle', 'Jack and Jill' and tons of others. It's a great place for kids to explore without any mechanical rides. We had a blast there.

King Arthur's Castle.

Old Lady's shoe.

Jack's Beanstalk. It's a slide!

I don't know this fable either. Chinese man on a giant turtle...

Cinderella's coach.

Aria on a block of cheese. I don't know which fable this is from.

My sister and her BF took us to Marine World on Thurs. Here's another place that I've never been to when I was young (I was a deprived child). I expected the place to only have marine life but boy was I wrong. Marine World features a combination wildlife park, oceanarium and theme park. We weren't able to explore the whole park but we hit alot of the main attractions like the killer whale show, the dophin show, elephant show and one roller coaster ride. Aria was very upset when she killer whale Shouka splashed her with water. She's such a clean freak. I actually got to touch an elephant and a stingray! Aria's favorite was the butterfly atrium. She touched a butterfly that was sitting on the ground (touching of butterflies were not allowed though). She wanted to hang out longer there but we didn't want to miss the elephant show.

We got to feed parrots from small cups containing nectar. Well, I fed them, Aria watched.

Sorry for the dark and blurry pic. It was dark in there.

Walus sneaking up on Aria.

Shouka The Killer Whale.

We're back.

Aria and I got back into town Sunday afternoon. It was like stepping into a sauna when we got off the plane. HOT. I really miss A., the pets and our house but one thing I don't miss is this dry, heavy heat. It's only going to get hotter.
I have so much to write about regarding our vacation and there's so much to do in the upcoming 2 weeks: filling out paperwork in anticipation of Aria entering preschool, changing her sleeping habit also in anticipation of her entering preschool, attending preschool meetings, volunteering at her new school, playdates with friends to conclude the summer. Argh... I need a vacation.

vacation

Aria and I are heading up north for a little vacation til this Sunday. We're going without A. because he has work and he needs to take care of all of our pets. We'll be staying with my little sis for the duration of the vacation. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing her and her honey. She refuse to tell me the agenda while we're there so it's all going to be a surprise to me. Hopefully I'll be able to post while I'm there. The only thing I'm dreading is the ordeal at the airport with checking in and boarding. I'm not looking forward to lugging around a carseat, stroller, luggages and a child around the airport. Wish me luck.

Obsessions.

Aria's latest t.v. viewing obsession is The Power Puff Girls. I have about 4 PPG dvds in my dvd collection and I took them out to show Aria and now she's obsessed with them. First thing she asked this morning when she woke up was why the PPG weren't on and if she can watch some. When she's obsessed, she can watch the same DVD three times in a roll. I find myself humming random Disney sounds because they're on so often. Here's Aria's DVD obsession in its chronological order: Bambi II, Lady and the Tramp, Wallace and Gromit, Aquamarine, Howl's Moving Castle, Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, now Power Puff Girls. Yes, we watch alot of t.v.

Baker Aria

While at the store today, Aria spotted a package of Nestle Toll House Animal Shapes Shortbread Cookies and asked if I can get it for her. I thought it'll be a good activity to try out with her so I purchased it. As soon as we got home we preheated the convection oven and cracked open the package. Aria was very excited. She had skipped her nap (surprise, surprise) and was fighting fitigue, but she was determined to baked those animal cookies. She even took a bite of one of the unbaked hippo's butt. Funny girl. We all pitched in and they were in the oven in no time. The hardest part for Aria was the wait. Ten minutes was a long time for her to wait but she managed by playing with the icing packet. Once out of the oven, Aria and I iced the cookies. She was very good at spreading the icing with a knife. I tried decorating the cookies like the picture on the package but they turned out horribly. Oh well, they still tasted great. Aria ate the majority of the cookies. I think I prefer them without the icing, tad too sweet. She had a blast making them. I'm definitely going to do this more often with her.

Aria with the finished product. She was refusing to look at the camera.

Aria enjoying the cookies. She loved the icing.

My precious...

Look what A. got me today.... a capriz pendant lamp from West Elm! I've been wanting this for the longest time. I actually went into West Elm to purchase it a month ago and the only one they had left was opened and missing its original box. I decided to wait. Well, A. purchased it up for me today after work (the store is only a 3 min. walk from his work. I would be going there all the time if I worked there.) I love it. He also got me a gift card to Target. I was purplexed by his action until it told me that it was for our anniversary for when we first met - August 17th. Isn't that so sweet of him? I totally forgot too. He's the best. I <3 him very much.

Denial.

Somebody refused to take a nap even though she was tired. That somebody would rather have a snack of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies instead and refused to give up the last cookie after I asked her to relinquish the cookie. Then that somebody went and fell asleep on the floor with that cookie in her hands.

The horror....

Just when I thought my little Aria is a true angel and can be trusted to be left alone to play with her pet fishies and her pet turtle, I find this.....




She took a few of her plastic zoo animals and stuck them into the fish aquarium. She knew she did something wrong when the first thing she said was, " I'm a good girl?"
Yeah, she's a good girl, most of the times, but not when she's messing with the fishies.

Current favorites

I got this for Aria about a year ago and had it stashed away until she can understand the story behind the dolls. Well, she loves Cinderella story now so I've taken the set out for her. She was so happy when she saw the dolls and promised to be 'a good girl' if I let her play with them. They are currently her favorite toys. Personally, Prince Charming looks a little freaky because of his big head. He reminds me of the wooden dummy that a ventriloquist used in an old black and white episode of The Twilight Zone.

Descanso Gardens

We spent the day at Descanso Gardens with a few friends. We met up around 10ish and left around 1:30. The weather was perfect, sunny with a slight breeze. It definitely helped that majority of the garden is heavily shaded. We had a great time exploring the garden and enjoying each other's company. We were only able to visit a small section of the garden before the kids (and the adults too) got tired and decided to head home, but it was fun nevertheless.

One of my favorite area of the garden was the Japanese Tea Garden. It contains a maze of paths and steps that eventually leads up to a temple surrounded by koi ponds. Very tranquile. The kids loved to run up and down the paths constantly interupting my tranquility and causing me great distress from the thought that they might slip and fall into the koi ponds below.

That's Aria and Dalia actually enjoying each other's company. They've know each other for almost 2 years but I can't say that they're the best of friends.

This is a group picture of all the kids. From left to right: Joshua, Dalia, and Aria. Take note of that huge pumpkin behind Aria. All the kids wanted to touch it and take it home.

There were koi ponds situated throughtout the garden. The last koi pond that we stopped at was magnificent. The water was super clear and we could see all the water creatures swimming in the pond. There were two waterfalls in the background and lily pads and all sorts of water plants were thriving in the pond. It was amazing to see turtles and koi fishes co-habitating in the same pond. I would have thought the turtles would have eaten up all the koi fishes. Hmm....

Here's Aria being a thrill seeker by getting a close look at the enormous koi fishes. Thank god she did not slip in.

This turtle was trying to climb out but failed.

Optical Illusions

These were sent to me by a friend Aimee. Very neat stuff.


If you take a look at the following picture , let me tell you it is not animated. Your eyes are making it move. To test this, stare at one spot for a couple seconds and everything will stop moving. Or look at the black center of each circle and it will stop moving. But move your eyes to the next black center and the previous will move after you take your eyes away from it....

You should see a man's face and also a word... Hint: Try tilting your head to the right, the world begins with 'L'

Loot

Here's a picture of the stuff I got yesterday at Marukai. I think I leave two wooden monkeys out because they're in Aria's room already.

Stuff from Marukai.

Double-sided Miffy pathfinder from Target.com.

I love Miffy!!