Coupons and deals

I did 2 auctions for my unused coupons on HCW and had so much fun doing them. My first auction was for 8 Free burgers at Chili's. I got $12 pay pal for them. I then auction of 20 Johnson & Johnson coupons that you can get the Buddies soap for free. I have about 30 of these things already and do not need anymore. I got a formula check, a Free Saran wrap coupon, and 5 stamps for them. Trading coupons are so much fun when they work out.

I had a semi-bad experience last week. I was trying to get some Horizon milk coupons and formula check for the kids. I paid the person $2.5o pay pal for the $4 enfamil check and 6 Horizon milk coupons. Well she messaged me a few days later saying she has been sick and just sent out my coupons. It was 4/4 when she sent me that message so I replied saying by the time I get them, the milk coupons would've expired. She felt bad so she sent me some $2 Enfamil catalina from Krogers. That's great and all but when I received the coupons, the milk was for 8th Continent and not Horizon! Needless to say I was pretty upset and on top of that, the formula check she sent me expired on 3/31!! I sent her a message conveying my dissappointment and she was apologetic and ask if I can use printouts and that she'll send me some. I haven't heard from her nor receive anything else from her after that. Since I haven't heard from her for over a week I just gave her a neutral rating. She had good ratings before and I didn't want to ruin it but I want to convey my disapppointment. She replied after I gave her my rating and said how badly she felt and she will send me an envelope to make up for the trade. I really wasn't expecting anything but was pleasantly surprise when I got an envelope from her. Even though I can't use most of the coupons she sent me but I appreciate the gesture. I gave her a positive rating this time for her effort.

Here are some good deals I got so far:

Walgreens - April 11, they sent out a $5 off $20 that was good for Friday only. I had planned to spend the day with Ky-An that day because I was off so he came along with me to do all these deals. He was really good and love sitting in the cart while I run pushing him. Walgreens had buy 4 Aveeno and get $10 Registered Reward. The small lotion that was sold for $2.89 work on the deal so it's already a money maker. We needed some diaper cream for the kids so I got 2 diaper creams and 2 of those small lotions and with the $5 off coupon I was making even more money on these products. I went to another Walgreens to get some Loreal Preference hair color for my mom. They are regular price at $9.99 but was on sale and I used the $5 off $20 on top of that. I end up getting her 5 boxes for $16 and she was so happy (not to mention impress). At the end of the day, I got 12 packs of 17-stick Extra gums, 2 Aveeno lotion, 2 Aveeno diaper cream, 6 boxes of Loreal Preference hair c0lor, 1 toy Dolphin and 2 bottles of bubble soap for Ky-An, 1 trial size Tuf trash bags with 6 bags in there, 1 Snickers, 1 bag of straws, and 4 Starbucks coffee bags for $4! What fun!

Unfortunately, I found out that night I let one of the Register Rewards expired and felt horrible about it. I tried to go to several stores to beg them to take it since it's $8 but no one would. I felt a little better when I was able to give it to one of the ladies on the HWC board for her to use.

Week of April 18's hottest deal was the Suave shampoo/conditioner.
4 Suave shampoo/conditioner = $6
Buy 1 Get 1 50% off = -$1.36
----------------------------------
$4.64
- $2 coupons
========================
$2.64 and get $6 Register Reward back. That's a pretty good deal already right? You know what is extra icing on the cake??!!!! It rolls!!! That mean you can use the $6 RR to go back and buy more Suave with filler items to equal $6. I bought a bunch of the Arizone tea that was on sale for $.50 as fillers. They are my favorite drink so I was happy. I got about 30 bottles by the end of the week.


CVS - Excredin was on sale for $1.99 with $1 back and I had $2 off coupons. The limit was 5 so I made $5 to bring 5 boxes of Excedrins home.

They had Softsoap Spa bodywash for $4.99 and get $4.99 back. I maxed it out and got 10 bottles using $1.50 coupons on them. A few weeks down the road, there was a buzz that the bigger and different Softsoap Spa bodywash deal was active so I got 15 more bottles using the $1/1 coupons that just came out.

Week of 4/20, CVS had Viva 8-pack paper towels on sale for $6.49 with $1 ECB back. I stocked up and bought some but since we still had plenty at home, I didn't buy too much. The store near my house was out of the paper towels (I think Asian people just love them) but the manager is such a great guy, he asked if I wanted a raincheck..uh yeah!!! CVS rainchecks are awesome because they never expired. I end up buying more Viva at another store and save this raincheck for when I can get my hands on good coupons for them.

Alavert Allergy medicine was also found to be a moneymaker this week. They are on sale for $6.99 - $4 mnf printable = $2.99 and you get $5 ECB back. I got some of it for Hieu to try.


Week of 4/27, there was a 3M deals of getting $5 ECB when you buy $15. I used it to stock up on the Scotch Brite scouring pads. I did this 2 times on 2 cards:
6 Post-It Flags = $12
3 Scouring Pad = $5
- $9 Post-It Flags coupons (3 $3/2 printables)
- $1.50 scrubbing pads
=======================
$6.50 get $5 ECB back = $1.50 for 3 scouring pads, not too bad. The best part is I can use my Extra Bucks to pay for these transactions and not have to deduct any money out of my budget.


The third time I wanted some lint rollers that's included in the deal so I did this:
2 Post-It flags = $4
4 Scouring pads = $6.67
2 Lint brushes = $5
--------------------------------
- $6 Post-Its Flags printables
- $2 scouring pads
- $2 lint brushes
=======================
$5.67 - $5 ECB back = $.67! In addition, I can send it for a rebate on the Lint brushes as well as the post-its.


They also had the Benadryl cream on sale and get $5 wyb 2:
2 Benadryl anti-itch cream = $7.38
- $2 Benadryl coupons
=========================
$5.38 - $5 ECB back = $.38 for two sticks of Benadryl cream! It's great to stock up on with the summer coming and my kids are bound to get mosquito bites.


Wal-mart has small packs of Huggies CleanTeam wipes for $1.69. I have several $3/2 Huggies CleanTeam coupons so we got about 12 packs of wipes for .19 cents each!

Our First Garage Sale!

Our neighborhood host an annual garage sale every year in the last week of April. Due to our Deed restriction, we are only allowed one garage sale per year so the HOA decide to do a big one so everyone can participate. I love it because it's a lot of fun and look forward to it every year. Hieu and I have been contemplating whether to sell anything this year because we have a lot of stuff but not sure if we can handle it with 2 little ones. We received the neighborhood newsletter at the beginning of the week annoucing the garage sale and decided to go for it on impulse.


I don't even know what we were thinking because it's a lot of work..ALOT!!! I pull out all the items in my stockpile that I know we are not going to use or will not be able to use all before the expiratin date. I got pricing stickers for free at Walgreens by working them into the Aveeno deals. I got everything priced by Wednesday and then it's time to sort all the kid's clothes to sell. I think I need about 2 weeks to do this, not 2 days. I only get about an hour every night to prepare for the gargage sale after putting the kids to bed and pumping. We stayed up until almost 1 on Friay to get everything ready.

Thank goodness Hieu was on board and helped me out. I am not sure I could've do it by myself. At first he didn't really get involved but by the end of the week, he was going around the house looking for things he can sell and helped me priced his items on Friday. He also went over to my little sister's boyfriend's house (in the neighborhood) to borrow some long tables to display our products.

I finally got to bed at 1 in the morning and Ai-Vy woke up every hour after that crying because she's congested. I hear it storm at 3 a.m. and got a little worry. When I woke up at 6, the weather was still horrible and rainy. I scramble to get more of the kid's outgrown clothes ready as soon as I woke up. By 7:30 I asked Hieu what we should do? We already put so much work into it so I really don't want it to go into waste. Hieu suggest we put a table out in the portico of the garage and he'll tarp up other parts of the garage so no one can see what we have in there. Then start a chain of chaos of getting all the boxes out the garage, display them on the table, Ky-An is whineybecause we are not paying attention to him, Ai-vy is crabby because she's not feeling well and she didn't get much sleep last night, feeding them, putting them down for naptime, and taking care of the customers and the bargaining.

The rain stopped at about 10 a.m and it was supper crowded. Our house is on the corner of a main street so it's prime estate for the garage sale. We had so many people stopping by to buy stuff and most of my stockpile was gone! I sold all of the diabetes monitor that CVS paid me $15 to take. I sold most of the deodorants that are also free at CVS. Razors, lotions, facewash, Loreal shampoo/conditioner, and Suave shampoo/conditioner that Walgreens paid me to take. I first priced them at $.75 but it wasn't really selling so I lowered the price to $.50 and they went like hot cakes. We also sold a bunch of brand new toys that I got at 75% off at Target. I sold 8 of the Airwick Freshmatic that I got for $.99 for $3.

My little sister was a great help in assisting me in sales and cover me when I had to tend to the kids. By 2p.m. the traffic has slowed down and I was waiting for Hieu to come out to start cleaning up. I heard someone crying on the monitor so I ran to see who it was and left our garage sale with no one watching it. Turn out Ky-An had somehow coughed too hard in his sleep and threw up all over himself. I came in to see Hieu freaking out and Ky-An stripped down hysterically crying with the bath water running and Ai-Vy awoke looking so tired. I told Hieu to go clean up the garage sale and I'll give Ky-An a bath. I calmed him down and gave him a bath while Hieu boxed up everything. That is how our garage sale was ended.

We did much better than I expected at the garage sale, profitting $475.25. Not too shabby for stuff that would've otherwise sit around in the attic Some of the big items was Ai-Vy bedding set that I sold for $25. I felt bad for the family who was buying it so I just sold it to them for cheap. We sold our extra vacuum for $15. Ever since we hire our cleaning service, we hardly use it anymore. I sold my LV purse that I used for about 5 years for a measly $25 :P The rest was from my stockpile so more money added to the grocery budget!!!!

Even though we were exhausted by the end of the day (what were we thinking??!!!) , we had a lot of fun meeting the neighbors and being salespeople. My little sister and I kidded that it reminded us of our childhood when we had to sell at the flea market every weekend.





Multi-tasking..tending to Ai-Vy and selling.


Ai-Vy checking out the garage sale:

Ai-Vy and Ky-An's Development

Ky-An:

Ky-An is a little chatterbox nowadays and loves to ask "what's this" for everything. Even if he knows the answer, he still loves to ask us what it is. Sometimes we'll pretend to give him the wrong answer because he loves to correct us. Our babysitter will tell him to put on his shoes and he said "no, that's slippers". My little sister got him these adorable leather flip flops and he loves to slip them on to go outside. His toes would grip it so he can't walk very far, very fast, nor very long in them..but he loves to put them on. He also loves to go look for bugs, worms, spiders, frogs, etc. Now that the weather is warmer, he can be outside more and is enjoying every minute of it.

He also love to ask where everyone is, even if we are just right there. "Where's mom?", "where's dad?", "where's little sister?", "where's train?", "where's frog?", "where's bug?". Most times he will answer himself and goes "sister sleep", "bug jumped away", "frog bye-bye", or "train nie-nie". It's such a joy to hear him talk and learn new words everyday. He melts my heart whenever he ask "where's mom?" Whenever I hear that, I have to stop what I am doing, look for him and go "here I am".

He calls Hieu's little brother "seph" for Joseph and calls my little sister "ut" for youngest one.

Since he can communicate more, he makes more requests (or demands). He would only drink his milk on his little couch, not the big one we got him. It has to be the big blanket, not the smaller ones or his sister's blankets. One day for lunch or babysitter was feeding the kids Pho, or beef noodle soup. Ky-An goes "nooooo, banh mi thit" asking for meat sandwich. Before bed I usually sing the good-night song I made up for him and he'll yank out his sippy just to whisper "happy birthday".

He's also like it when we act silly and play little games with him. His favorite game at the moment is grabbing on to my finger and goes "poo poo" and I'll have to try and yank my finger from him. He'll crack up laughing and running up to me to grab my finger again. He has this dinosaur that I got him with an open mouth. He loves it when I put my finger in the dinoseaur's mouth and go.."oh no, he got me..he got me..owie!!"

He has his favorites books to read and we read them to him so often that he can sit on the glider and open the book to "read" it himself. It's really adorable. His favorite books are "The Bug That Goes A-a-choo" and "The Hungry Little Capterpillar".

He's very good about his bedtime routine. After bath and brush his own teeth, he'll run over to the glider and grab his book to start reading while he wait for one of us to sit down and read it to him. After the book is done, he'll say "finish" and get off the glider to turn off the lamp. He'll automaticlaly put whatever toy he's was holding on the nightstand and say "nie nie ". He'll try to climb on the bed and go lay down on his pillow and wait for one of us to give him his milk.

Other little things he does are:

• Anything that sticks together to make a long line is train to him: carts, people, tow trucks, etc.


• Anything that is dark or is scabby is "owie" to him. He'll point at Hieu's and my beauty mark, any bump I have, his birthmark, bruises are all "owie".
  
• He's still my cuddler and has to caress my arms before he goes to bed. When he wakes up in the middle of the night and can't feel me, he'll start whimpering then cry.
  

Ai-Vy:

I can't believe Ai-Vy is already 7 months old. She can flip but can't crawl yet. However, she loves to be in the walker and loves to stand so she may just skip crawling altogether. She still has no teeth and no sign of any coming. She does drool in buckets but no teeth yet.

I've always say Ai-Vy will be out little trouble-maker and sure enough, she's already a hands full. She's not even mobile yet but is already trying to get her hands on everything. If we put her on the changing table, she'll twist her body around and grab whatever she can. If I put them all out of her reach then she'll start waving her legs and kick whatever they can reach. Whenever I hold her walking around, I have to be careful what she can reach because she'll try to grab everything that she can get her hands on with her chubby hands. I don't mind her curiousity so much because it shows that's she'll be smart and quick on her feet.

She's is a fiesty little girl also. If she doesn't like something, you can be sure you'll know about it. If you take away a toy from her; if she's frustrated because she can't reach something; if she doesn't want to drink her milk, she'll scream her little head off until she gets her way.

Other things that she does:

• She'll grab her feet every chance she gets. Whenever we lay her down, that's what she'll grab. Ky-An never did this because his belly got in the way and he couldn't reach his feet.
  
• She only cries when she's tired and she'll go "me" whenever she cries so Hieu thinks he's calling for me..hahha.
  
• She can lift herself up from her back to a semi-sitting position.
  
• She can sit on her own very well now.
  
• If she's really tired then she can put herself to sleep.
  
• She's more aware of her surrounding and would start crying already as soon as I take her to the room and put her on her pillow.
  
• She loves cuddling up to her NAP blanket and goes to sleep hugging it.


• She is very good at grasping things and loves to take her pacifier out to show me or to look at it.


• When I cradle her to sleep, she is more interested in my necklace pendant than me trying to get her to sleep. She keeps trying to grab it and play with it.


• She can put her hand to her mouth and make the "oa oa" noise
  
• She hates it when I hold her to try and put her to sleep but she's unable to make herself comfortable enough to go to sleep so we are constantly at war.

The kiddos are sick..again!

Well I found out why Ai-Vy and Ky-An was torturing me at night. The poor babies are sick and have a slight fever. Ky-An caught it first but he seem to battle it okay. His fever was mild and it didn't keep him from being his active little self. Ai-Vy caught it a little worst and had a fever of 101. She was up most of the night because she wasn't feeling well so I stayed home with her on Wednesday. Poor Ky-An is also a little sick but couldn't stay home with me and was whining for me. I felt horrible about it but I know Ai-Vy would be demanding all day and that our babysitter would take good care of him. I always battle the biggest guilt trip whenever I am home but he has to go to the babysitter's....*sigh*.

Ai-Vy was suppose to go back the pediatrician for her second set of shots on Thursday but her fever climbed to 101 so they had her come in for a checkup instead. Her fever was down to 99 when we got there and they took a little blood to test if the infection is viral or bacterial. I was expecting her to scream whenever the prick her finger but she just calmly look at the nurse and then at her hand like "what's going on here?" The pediatrician showed me the result of the test and it's kind of neat. On the test it said what her white blood cell level is and what the normal range would be. If it's higher than the normal range then it confirms she is fighting an infection. They then break down whether those white blood cells are viral or bacterial and can tell what kind of infection she has from that. Luckily she only has a viral infection so no antibiotics! Yeah!

I had to battle to give her medicine the entire 3 days I stayed home with her. The doctor suggest suppositories but I am not too keen on the idea and wanted to use it as the last resort. I can't tell you how many times we had to change the sheets or her clothes these past few days though. This girl has the most sensitive gag reflex I've ever seen. As soon as the medicine touch her toungue, she gags and throws up. What I have to do was wait until she's in deep sleep and I armed myself with 2 dispensers (one of medicine and one of water). I would quickly inject the medicine to the back of her throat aiming the dispenser toward her cheeks so she won't choke. Before she has the chance to gag, I have to quickly inject the water in her mouth so she won't gag on the medicine taste. Even this process is not full-proof. I just hope she gets better soon. It's so hard to see your baby being sick and has that glazed look in her eyes.

I am so tired...

Last night was not a great night for me. I finally got ready to go to bed at 11:45. As soon as I lay down, wouldn't you know it, Ai-Vy starts squirming. I lean over to hug her and she settled down to go back to sleep. Then it's Ky-An's turn to move around because he can't breathe. I settled him back down and Ai-Vy starts up again. I must have fell asleep as I cuddled with Ai-Vy because she started squirming again and I check the clock, it was 12:30. I figure she was hungry so I prepared a bottle for her and she drank some of it and went back to sleep. She spit out her pacifier somewhere and I can't find it so I had to go outside at almost 1 in the morning trying to search for another pacifier for her.

She starts squirming again at about 1:30. I tried everything to get her to go back to sleep. I cuddled with her, I left her alone for a bit, I turned her to her side, I pulled the blanket on her, I pulled the blanket off her, I gave her the pacifier, I tried giving her the bottle again, I even picked her up and tried to rock her for a while but all she did was lay still and stare at the ceiling fan with her eyes wide open. She was quiet so I didn't think she would wake up Ky-An so I laid her down and went to use the bathroom. I came back and she still lay there quietly staring at the ceiling. I thought I smelled her diaper so I checked it, sure enough, she needed to be changed! By this time it was about 2:30.

I took her to the bathroom to change her and tried to swing her back to sleep, didn't happen and my arms got tired so I put her down on the bed. She starts talking loudly and I was afraid she might wake up Ky-An so I picked up to take her outside. I laid her in the bassinett in the family room and laid on the couch to rest for a bit. Not within five minutes she was extremely quiet so I sneaked up the bassinett to check up on her. Her eyes were closed so I picked her up to bring her into the bed so I can get some sleep. She woke up as soon as I picked her up but I was hoping she'll go back to sleep as I put her down on the bed. Nope, started talking loudly again so I quickly scooped her up. Ky-An starts stirring and his arms start waving around in the air looking for me. He starts whimpering and I know if he doesn't feel something quickly he's going to start crying and wake up. I quickly jump on the bed with Ai-Vy and pulled my blanked next to him. He went back to sleep and I took Ai-Vy out to the family room again.

It's about 3:30 by this time and Ai-Vy quickly settle down to go to sleep in the bassinette again. (Maybe that thing is more comfortable than her bed, I've got to re-evaluate. ) Anyway, I waited for her to sleep for a bit before scooping her up this time. She stir a little as I put her down on the bed so I gave her the rest of her bottle and she went to sleep. I finally crawled into bed at about 4. Ky-An, of course, has taken over my sleep area so I had to move him so I can lay down and get some rest. He still moved over to be next to me, leaving me about 1 foot of space in a king size bed! At 4:30 Ky-An starts moving around again and I got him back to sleep at 5. I remember looking at the clock and think..okay, I got an hour and a half of sleep. I didn't wake up until almost 6:30 because Hieu forgot to wake me up on time. I am late to work...again and needless to say I am extremely exhausted.

Farmer's market

We went to my friend's restaurant in a northern part of the city that was an hour away. (Yes, our city takes over an hour to drive from one side to the other.) Hieu noticed a Farmer's market there and we've always wanted to go to one so he decide we should go this weekend. I resist at first because it was so far away and going out with two kids is always a task. I am glad we went though because Ky-An had so much fun and I had a great time picking out fresh fruits and vegetables also.

We went to eat at my friend's Chinese restaurant afterward. After we got home, I realize we bought too much stuff and had to share some of it to our babysitter.

Helping me selecting pears for little sister:




Helping me get some eggs:


Now the green beans, only one at a time for him:


The scenes and sight:



He was really good at holding my hands and walk with me:


Gets excited and pointing at different fruits he knows the word for:


He thought these were bananas and keep excitedly call out "nana, be-nah-nahs". The sales people were laughing at him and to each other at how he thought it's a banana.


Ai-Vy was hungry and tired but enjoyed looking around. She refuses to eat nor sleep when we are out. That's why I hesitate to go anywhere much because I feel so bad for her.


Whenever he goes out, he has to grab this hat with him the go:

Horoscope for the kids and us

My oldest sister forward me an interesting website about horoscope. I think the part about the kids describe them perfectly.

Ky-An:

Children born in the Year of the Rooster are bright, intelligent children. They are creative and alert. They easily play and interact with other children and generally like to learn new things. They are eager to please parents and teachers alike. However, Rooster children do not make the best scholars and they tend to excel in subjects where interaction and social skills are required.

Wood Rooster is different in that he enjoys being a part of the team rather than in the spotlight like other Roosters. He likes the company of others and is a genuine friend. These Roosters work for the betterment of society, working diligently to change the evils of it. They expect quality attempts from others involved with the causes and sometimes expect too much of their co-volunteers, as they do of themselves. Often, because of this desire to help society, these Roosters overcommitt themselves, unable to finish what they’ve started.

Aquarian Roosters like to stand out in the crowd. Conformation is certainly not their forte. They do not like to be tied down to one thing, person or decision. They need to be thrown a curveball every once in a while to stimulate their creativity.


Ai-Vy:

Pig children are joyous children. They giggle and twirl and are truly enjoyable to be around. These children love to play with other children and usually have many friends. They have confidence in themselves and in others.

Active, outgoing and extroverted, Fire Pigs breathe new life into everything they do. These Pigs are vivid, motivated individuals who cannot be deterred from a goal once they have set it. They are emotional and passionate about their loved ones, their occupations and their objectives. They are bold and vivacious, unafraid to take risks despite the consequences. They make great bosses because they do work so hard and because they are so spirited. But don’t doublecross a Fire Pig. They have the ability to be quite abrasive when things don’t turn out as they planned. (Yup, I can so see that in Ai-Vy already.)

Virgo Pigs are very giving creatures who would go without just so others could have. They are sacrificial creatures who will really out on the heat if a family member or friend lets them down.

Just for fun, here are the horoscope for Hieu and I. I don't think mine describe me AT ALL but Hieu seem to disagree! :P


Chau:

A Dragon's home should be as large and majestic as his personality, providing space for the fiery temperament or emotional eruptions that accompany their character. (Good thing we have enough space in our home for my eruptions!)

The Fire Dragon is a powerful force to be reckoned with. This is a Dragon doubled! The Fire Dragon can move from calm and collected to combustible in a matter of seconds. In some ways the Fire Dragon is his or her own worst enemy. These Dragons cannot help feeling they are valuable and all-knowing. When they are right their vehemence and vigor is an asset to the cause, and though they value objectivity, they do not always employ the best decision-making measures, and sometimes jump to the wrong conclusion. They also suffer from recklessness and quick tempers. Yet, when they do keep their temper, emotions, and rivaling spirit under control, they emanate a commanding influence on other people.

Because people born in the year of the Dragon are so working on furthering their careers, they usually Put off having and raising children until later than many of the other Chinese horoscope signs. Parenting doesn't come very naturally easily to the Dragon. However, when Dragons do become parents, they approach it with the same enthusiasm as other endeavors. They are proud parents and tend to boast about the accomplishments and good looks of their children.

Dragons, noted for their benevolence, tend to shower their children with toys and spending money. It has been remarked that they substitute material things for quality time with their children. (I totally disagree with this.) Even so, Dragons take parenting seriously and are quite protective of their children's welfare. Should anything upset them, or should anyone wrong them, the Dragon will prepare to fight and avenge the people who have hurt or belittled their offspring. (Heck yeah!)

Negatively, Dragons are egotistical and love to be the center of attention. Modesty is not one of his assets. Add to that the Dragon temper and you have a bossy, dominating and authoritative being. They hate solicited advice and can be hopelessly tactless and insensitive to their lovers. (hmmmmmm, I am not too sure if that's true or not.)

Capricorn Dragons are pragmatic, determined and modest, with a driving craving for achievement. They will work long hours to make a slow climb to the top. For them, passion and romance come second, but once committed, they are responsible partners.

Relationship with the kids: Rooster- few clashes of temperament ***, Pig - get along, but hard work **. (Hmm..so I have to work a little harder to get along with Ai-Vy.)

Dragon*Rabbit - Your obstacles will either unite or divide you (I hope Hieu and I won't be divided!)

Hieu:

(Hieu and Ky-An are wood and Ai-Vy and I are fire. They better watch it because we will burn them to ashes! :P) Wood Rabbits tend to be the least bit indecisive. This is probably due to their always wanting to play the peacemaker and not wanting to hurt other people’s feelings. Wood Rabbits are incredibly generous souls and like to avoid the spotlight instead preferring to live amongst others. These people are always kind enough to help you move into a new house, make you a hot cup of coffee or to listen while you rant and rave about your latest character flaw. The Wood Rabbit can sometimes be too kind for his own good, thus causing him to be taken advantage of and sometimes even used by others unknowingly. Rabbits have to learn to say no and to out their feet down or their cups will overflow. (yup, that's definitely Hieu.)

Although they love their children intensely and take care of them quite affectionately, sometimes Rabbit parents can come off as looking uninterested or distant. Still, Rabbits are so defending of their children that they often appear strict and overbearing. When their children are little, Rabbit parents will dress them in cute little outfits and will insist they act mild mannered and politely. Rabbits often find themselves wrapped around the tiny fingers of their kids and will do anything for them, too make them happy and to keep the peace. Rabbits despise arguing with their children, as conflict makes them quite uncomfortable, and they will avoid it at all costs. Rabbits will always be there for their children and will help them even as they grow and mature. They find themselves there for their kids throughout their lives. (Both kids already have him wrapped around their fingers. I saw it already even before this horoscope..hehe.)

Relationship with the kids: Rooster argument-prone *, Pig stable and loving ****. (So he gets along much better with Ai-Vy than Ky-An.)

Ky-An's trip to Chuckee-Cheese

The babysitter's kids wanted to take Ky-An and the two older girls to Chuckee-Cheese yesterday. Hieu and I was hesitant to let him go because we really don't like those places. Ky-An hasn't been there yet because I think it's too loud and dirty. We finally let him go because we didn't want him to miss out on the fun with his friends. They took some pictures and it seem like he had a great time.

Ai-Vy with our babysitter


Playing with the dogs they found. He absolutely love animals but I am anti-pet so it's a question of when he'll break me down.



At the restaurant with one of the babysitter's kids:


The two older girls at the babysitter's:


She can eat with chopstick..so good!


Drinking juice:


Loves the carousel:


And the horsie..didn't want to get off:


Shaking hand with Chuckee-Cheese. The girls wouldn't go near the rat:


Conked out on the way back:

Week in pictures

Hieu was taking some studio pictures for a friend of ours and decide to do the kids also. Here's our little surfer boy:







With his little sister:






Checking out the lady bug at the playground:




Going for a walk with dad:


Ai-Vy next to a 3-month old baby at our babysitter's house.


Ai-Vy's first time sitting in the shopping cart:

Ai-Vy's 6 months checkup

Ai-Vy went in for her checkup when she was 6 month and 3 weeks old. I had a re-schedule the appointment because I had a conference call I couldn't move. She is now 20 pounds (big enough to face front!), 27.5 inches in weight, and head measure at 17.5 inches. Her statistics are 95% for weight, 95% for height, and 90% for head. She's a big girl but at least she's proportional..hehe. She is still smaller than Ky-An at this age though.

She was suppose to get 4 shots at this visit and I felt like it's too much for her at one time so I asked them to separate it. My pediatrican was okay with it and made me another appointment for her next week. I was thinking to myself, of course you are okay with it. I have to pay for 2 visits!!! Just kidding. I am glad that she was able to separate out her shots though. The poor girl cried as soon as I laid her down to be weighed. I don't know if she was cold or if she's scare of the strange surrounding. I was a little surprise at her initial reaction because Ky-An never had a problem with the doctor's office. I can see Ai-Vy being one of those kids who cry as soon as they see the office though.


Even though I gave her some Tylenol before the visit, she still didn't do too well with her shots..the poor thing. I was playing peek-a-poo with her when she got her first shot. You can see the surprised look on her face and then she started bawling. She put her hands up wanting me to hold her and got mad that I wouldn't. I tried to calm her down and distract her for the second shot but had no luck. I am so glad I didn't let her go on with 4 shots. She would've been so upset and I am not sure if I can console her after that.

I always stay home for the day with my babies after their shots to comfort and hold them. I was suppose to massage where her shot and give her Tylenol to help her discomfort but she gagged and throw up each time I try to give her medicine. I finally was able to give her some at night when she was asleep. I basically gave her the dropper of medine then immediately follow it by a dropper of water to wash it down before she has a chance to gag or to spit it out. The next day one of her leg has a big knot in it where the shot was. My poor baby..it must be so sore for her. I massaged it all night and then asked the babysitter to do the same the next day and to give her Tylenol is she seem uncomfortable. Thank goodness the lump was gone the next day. Now I have to come back next week and do this all over again..ugh!