Dark's Realm

Busy Aftermath.

2009-08-15T10:15:00.001-07:00

So yesterday (Friday), I got home from work at about 1:30pm and started painting Jadon's room. Fiona did most of the prepping on his room the day before). She painted the edges and I did the rest of it. I finished in about an hour and 30 minutes. The paint color was a light grayish blue. It turned out a lot darker than we anticipated and bluer than expected. All we need to do now is let it try and then repaint the baseboards. So after the painting session, I ended up taking a shower and then I sanded part of Jadon's bed (the mold grew between his bed and the wall). So I spent about 30-45 minutes on that. Then I ended up taking another shower. So hopefully in a few days we'll have his bedroom back in place.

Moldy Issues And Cracks.

2009-08-13T08:29:00.000-07:00

My blogging is obviously diminished. I just can't get into the groove of daily or even weekly blogs. I'll try to at least do a monthly one. The big issues that has us occupied are mold and cracks. Lets start off with the biggest one.

It started last Friday. Fiona mentioned how it smells in Jadon's room. She washed his sheets and comforter and it still smelled. All the while I got into my clean phase where I was hunting down toys (especially the Leapster cartridges that the kids keep misplacing). It lead me to look in the cracks between Jadon's bed and the wall. I was not to please what I had discovered. There was mold on the bottom of his bed board, carpet, baseboard, and a little bit on the wall. The length was about 1.5 feet. We mentioned it to our neighbor (who is also the President of our HOA). He said he would call his people on Monday (as they were closed Friday evening). We didn't hear from him until yesterday (Wednesday).

We did proceed with out him by getting a couple of inspections. The first person to come out was recommended by our HOA and they said that it does look like mold and that they can clean, replace the baseboard. The cost was about $350 (without carpet cleaning). The second person came out and said that the mold was dry and that all that was required was a deep cleaning. The third person, Fiona talked to over the phone, and said that if the mold was dry that just a cleaning would suffice.

So we had a carpet cleaner come out on Wednesday morning. We spent Tuesday night moving furniture out of his room. We shelled out 160 bucks to have them clean both Jadon's room, the girls' room, part of out hallway and staircase. Shortly after that was done, our neighbor talked to Fiona and noticed that there was dirt patch on the outside wall which happened to coincide with where the mold was in Jadon's room. He called his HOA company to have them look (which was the same company that the first guy came from but this time it was another person). The dirt patch on the outside was just dirt (and not mold like he suspected). As for Jadon's room, the guy said that it does look like just dried mold but he cannot confirm that 100% unless he opened up the wall. He said if it was a bursted pipe then the damage would be a lot worse. That we should probably see it on our garage wall (Jadon's room is right about it). We asked him what he recommended and he said we should open up the wall just to verify that there is or isn't wet mold. He said the dry mold is nothing to worry about because it just means the mold is pretty much dead. The cost would have been $1200 to do not including build back (which would have cost at least another $1500 my guess). We opted not to. We recounted that some years back, Jadon had puked in that area and that the mold could have grown from that even though we thought we had cleaned it well). Hopefully it just an isolated incident. The guy ended up wire scrubbing, HEPA vacuuming, and spraying area at no cost. That was nice of him. So now we are just planning on repainting Jadon's room as well as the baseboards.

The second big issues happened last Thursday. I noticed a thin crack running up the corner wall in our living room. I followed that corner by going upstairs into our bedroom. Low and behold, it was there too. There are also cracks on the wall in our front yard as well. Great! So right now, we are in the process of getting our home builder to come out and look at it. My guess is I'll have to do some patch work and perhaps another paint project. Sigh.

That's pretty much about it for now.

Swimming Lessons Intensified.

2009-07-14T12:37:00.000-07:00

Last Monday we started all three kids on swimming lessons. This time around we decided to go with one-on-one training. It's every day, 5-days a week, for three weeks at 15 minutes apiece (although the 15 minutes sounds so little, it actually works out well). The swim teacher came highly recommended. Although it cost significantly more than if we enrolled them in class, we figured when it comes to safety and the kids getting intense training, that there would be no compromise. The kids were getting all geared up last weekend (before lessons). They were discussing who was going to go first. On the first day of lessons, both girls cried their little heads off. Jadon did well. That night the girls told us that they didn't want to go to swim class anymore. We sympathized with them but in our heads we were thinking "too bad, you're still going to go." The next day both girls still cried but it got less and less. By the end of the week, they were begging for more. The swim teacher is that good. The kids' progression is going quite well. They are able to swim with their head in the water for a good five feet unassisted.

Quite A While.

2009-07-06T12:30:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's been over a month since I last blogged. Where do I begin?

Last weekend we set out on a two night road vacation up to Monterey Bay. It's about a six hour drive. We headed out on Sunday and got back on Tuesday. The ride up wasn't so bad. The kids were good. It was the following days that weren't so pleasant. Fiona booked us at the Embassy Suites which was nice. She was really into their free full breakfast and late afternoon complimentary snacks. Plus the room itself had a separate living room space (separate from the bedroom).

DAY 1

So we arrived around 3:30 pm at the hotel, checked in, cleaned up, and headed to the Denise The Menace Park. That park was pretty sweet. No admission but it was like a little themed park. There was life sized train where kids can climb, a huge bridge with slides, a neat little maze, more slides. Probably one of the cooler parks out there. After that we headed back to Fiona's much-hyped afternoon snacks back at the hotel. It ended up being animal crackers, goldfish and some mix. Woohoo! Then after that we headed to the Fisherman's Wharf. It's a mini-version of the one up in San Fran.

DAY 2

The kids woke up really early and so we headed out to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. It was good. Just that there weren't any big fishes. We were there for a total of 3 hours. Jadon and Vanessa kept asking to go back to the hotel because they were tired and wanted to take a nap. Natalie was getting tired as well. So because of that, we ended our Aquarium excursion short. So we take the kids back and settle them for their naps and they ended up just yapping their little heads off. That was aggravating. It took me an hour of going in to tell them to be quiet and go to sleep. Then they woke up 30 minutes later. I just lectured them on and on about how momma and me wanted to stay at the aquarium longer and that we brought them back because they were so tired.... So after that we went out on the 17 mile drive which takes us through all the famous golf courses, coastline, and landmarks. It cost $9.25 and it would have been worth it if it wasn't for the overcast weather and the whiny kids. There were 21 stops/points of interest and we only got out for about 5-6 of them (most of them were of the popular golf course like Pebble Beach). There were also some gorgeous looking houses too. So we hurried and grab some dinner and went back to the hotel.

DAY 3

Our ride home was about 6 hours (plus an extra hour for breaks). It was pretty much a tiring one with the kids a little whiny. Although we ended up playing a game. Vanessa has this ambition of becoming a FedEx driver when she grows up. So we played "Who can spot the FedEx trucks." We must have spotted over 30 of them.

All in all the trip was OK. Most of our road trips have been good but this one was below our norm. I would like to go back to Monterey Bay perhaps without the kids and hit up some of the golf courses.

A Little TLC Moment.

2009-05-29T12:44:00.000-07:00

Last week I was watching Game 3 of the Lakers-Denver game (Lakers won on the road). Jadon decided that he wanted to watch the Laker game with me. Fiona took the girls out to Target. In the past Jadon would sit with me a few minutes and lose interest. This time around I decided to teach him some basics about basketball. First I drew out the lines on the court on a piece of paper and explained what each one represented (i.e. free throw line, three pointer) and how many points you get depending on where you shoot. Then I paralleled it to the court on TV. Then I quizzed him to make sure he knew what I had explained. I think from that he seem to enjoy the game more. He even told me shortly after "Dadda, I love you." Not only did that melt my heart but now he's a Laker fan. =)

Same School.

2009-05-26T12:37:00.001-07:00

Next year all three kids are going to the same school (Jadon's current one). We decided to not have the girls' continue at their current one. Fiona felt that the girls' weren't learning a whole lot compared to what they'd learn at Jadon's. Jadon will be going all five days and the girls' are currently enrolled for two days a week (Tues. & Thurs). Although they are on top of the waiting list for three days a week (Mon., Wed., & Fri.). All three of them are quite excited (as are we).

Natalie: OCD?

2009-05-26T12:32:00.000-07:00

I think Natalie has OCD or something. After every time she goes to the bathroom in the middle of the night, she tries to close the door quietly when she returns to her room. That's very courteous and all but she opens the door back up and closes it, opens it again and closes it. She does this probably half a dozen times or so. Last night she did this and Fiona went over and calmly told her to stop opening and closing the door and go to sleep. She ended up crying. She's cried on me before too.

Party-Pooped

2009-05-05T10:22:00.001-07:00

This past weekend was filled with a couple of kiddy birthday parties. On Saturday the Fiona took the girls' to their friend's birthday party. I took Jadon out on a Father-Son outing. I ended up taking him to Dave N' Busters for a little play and then afterwards we ate at Ruby's for dinner. Then we had rendezvous with Fiona and the girls' and went to the 6:30p.m. Church service.

On Sunday, I took Jadon to his friend's birthday park at a local Pirate-themed park. They even had a Johnny Depp look-a-like playing Captain Jack Sparrow. He played the party really well. There were some teenage girls hovering around taking pictures.

After this past weekend, I don't think I want to go to another birthday party for a while.

New Projection....Part II

2009-04-19T18:07:00.000-07:00

The girls just recently had their 4 year wellness check up. Vanessa measured at 39 inches (21 percentile) tall and Natalie came in slightly under at 38.5 inches (14 percentile). That comes out to roughly 5'1"-5'2" by the time they are 18 years of age. That's short......

New Projection.

2009-04-11T09:02:00.000-07:00

Jadon had his 6th year wellness check up. I am not sure what his weight was but his height was in the 97th percentile which projected him at 6'5" when he turns 18! Sweet!

The 9th!

2009-04-09T09:17:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Fiona and I celebrated our 9th Anniversary. I was able to get my parents to baby sit the kids which was a blessing. It was their first time watching the kids and I believe they did well (the kids that is). They didn't even cry when we left them. Although when we got back, Natalie had a band aid on her chin from an apparent fall. She ate some concrete running. My parents took them out to In N'Out followed by some Baskin Robbins. Fiona and I just went to dinner at the Melting Pot. You pretty much cook your food, fondue style. The dessert though was the best: Dark chocolate sauce with crumpled up graham crackers with an assortment of dippers (strawberries, bananas, cake, pound cake, marshmallow. Yum!

Pink Eyed.

2009-04-02T08:06:00.001-07:00

So for the past few weeks, we've dealt with Pink Eye (a.k.a. conjunctivitis) . A swelling of the eye leading to eye irritation, pussiness, itchiness, tearing. It first started with Jadon, then Vanessa got it, and finally Natalie. Although Natalie's Pediatrician doesn't think that she got it from them. Hmmmmmm.

Another Surreal Moment (Sort of).

2009-03-23T15:07:00.000-07:00

It's a little awkward for me to hear my son come home from school, like today, and greet me with a "Hi Pops!"

Trust me, I'm no pops.

Simon Says......

2009-03-23T07:02:00.000-07:00

So this past Saturday, after church, the kids were playing 'Simon Says.' I think the girls have just recently played it in class. So this is what Natalie said, "Put Simon on your shoulders." She doesn't quite get the concept just yet. Heeehehehe

Classical Musical Exposed.

2009-03-18T06:35:00.000-07:00

Last night our church was holding an event called "An Evening Of Classical Music." We figured it would be a good chance to expose the kids to some. For the most part they seemed to have enjoyed it (at least in the beginning). With the exception of some grumpiness, the kids were ok. Jadon cried once as well as Vanessa. I think they were getting tired. The program lasted from 7:00 pm to shortly after 9:00 pm. Some of the pieces that they played were by Bach, Liszt, Chopin, John Williams and some others that I forgot. I realized that the kids hadn't seen some of the instruments that were played, like the harp, xylophone, and even trumpet. So that was a good experience for us.

Animal Cruelty!

2009-03-04T14:24:00.000-08:00

So this morning I get a call from Fiona telling me that Dorothy (the goldfish) has passed away. Jadon told Fiona that Dorothy was swimming on it's side. When I got home, Fiona told me the rest of the story. I asked her if she flushed Dorothy down the toilet. She said that she put her in the kitchen sink and ran the disposal! I told her that was animal cruelty and that the proper way to dispose of a pet fish is to flush it. Her rebuttal was we put dead meat down the drain all the time and run the disposal. How mean is that!

Pets!

2009-03-03T07:32:00.000-08:00

Fiona decided that it was time for a pet. She thought it would be something the kids should experience. So on Saturday (her birthday) we went to the pet store and got....a goldfish! Woohoo! The kids were super excited. They decided on a name, Dorothy (named after Elmo's goldfish). The kids pronounce it "Dor-fee." At first Fiona had this little fish bowl that she got from Michaels. After the first day Fiona wanted to upgrade to a bigger bowl and get Dorothy a friend. So we went to our local PetSmart and got a half gallon bowl and another goldfish named Toto. So now the kids have two fishies.

Liable.

2009-02-25T05:58:00.000-08:00

Remember the blog regarding the car accident I was involved in back last September? If not here is the link. Well as it turns out I am deemed 100% liable for it. I'm so pissed off and there is nothing I can do about it. I called my insurance up to see how the final decision was made. The case went to arbitration and based off the photos and deposition of each party, they determined that I backed into the camper. I can't believe it. They based this idea by the fact that the indentation caused in my bumper was a result of that. What?!?!? I talked to my insurance agent about it to vent my frustration. I asked if there was anything I could do like communicate to the 3rd party arbitration. No such luck. I even asked if I could write a letter and forward it to them via insurance. No such luck. The decision is final. The good news (sort of) is that my insurance company is not going to charge me anything (they still believe in my side of the story despite the verdict) and they said my premiums won't go up because of the accident). Still though, I'm ticked.

Can't Keep A Secret.

2009-02-24T12:34:00.000-08:00

So last night Fiona had an outing with some people from her church. So I took the opportunity to print out some Hello Kitty designed birthday cards for the kids to color for their momma. I told them all to not tell her and that it was a secret. They all responded appropriately. I reiterated to them that if they tell her about the card that they won't get any cake.

Fast forward to this morning. I get a call from Fiona and she told me that Vanessa came up to her and said something to the effect of "Last night dadda made some Hello Kitty cards for you for your birthday. We're not suppose to tell you or we won't get cake. So don't tell." Fiona was busting up from laughter as she is telling me this.

That little punk! I'm not going to entrust her with a secret anymore.

Happy Presents Day!

2009-02-17T10:03:00.000-08:00

Here was a conversation that Vanessa had with Fiona last night:

Vanessa: Where's the presents?

Fiona: What presents?

Vanessa: Isn't today Presents Day?

Hahahahaha! Presidents, Presents....same difference.

And Yet Another Vegas Trip.

2009-02-13T07:49:00.000-08:00

Earlier this week (Sunday through Tuesday), the family went to Vegas. Twice in a little over a month. This time though we went with Fiona's parents and Aunt. This trip was almost identical to the last trip in that we went to nearly all the same places. We went to Mandalay Bay's buffet the first night. The next day we went to Ethel M's Chocolate Factory followed by a trip to Planet Hollywood's buffet. Then the next day, as we headed out, we dropped by South Point's buffet. Sooooo stuffed. The good thing about this trip (as oppose to our previous) was that we went on a non-weekend/non-holiday. No traffic going there, no lines at the buffet, less traffic on the strip. The kids had fun as well as us but I think I need to take a break from that place though (at least for a while).

Pump It Up!

2009-02-02T06:31:00.000-08:00

This past Saturday we had Jadon, Natalie, & Vanessa's birthday party at Pump It Up. There were a total of 23 kiddies (including our own) and it looked like everyone had a lot of fun. The majority of the kids were from Jadon's class, a few from the girl's class, my brother's daughters, and a couple of Fiona and my friends' kiddies. A lot of sweaty kids not to mention a lot of crying kids. The slides and bounce house can be lots of fun but there were a lot of kiddies scrapping themselves or landing on each other. A few glitches came up (i.e. not enough balloons, forgotten candles, not enough drinks), but all in all it was successful. Jadon has already asked if we can have their birthday party there come next year. We'll see about that (but I doubt it)....

Hatin' On The One Ring....

2009-01-30T08:03:00.000-08:00

For Christmas, Fiona was giving me gifts themed after each of the 12 days of Christmas. One of the gifts was a coupon to watch the Lord Of The Rings Trilogy (extended of course!). Probably one of my favorite movies. So the past three weekends (Fri.) & Sat.) we pulled out our sofa bed (in our living room), camped out, and have been watching them. As you may not know, Fiona isn't into these types of movies (i.e. Fantasy, Sci Fi). So it took a real strong effort for her to watch this series. So after watching all three movies, what did she think? Thumbs down. She didn't like it. She said that she doesn't ever want to do that again. Sigh....At least she got through with it. So much for watching Star Wars and Matrix.

"Sick" Excuse Begins.

2009-01-30T07:51:00.000-08:00

It started shortly after his birthday. Jadon told us that he didn't want to go to school the next day (which was a field trip day) and wanted to stay home. I wonder why....could it be because he wants to play with his new presents?

Yesterday he told Fiona that he was too sick (due to a cough) to go to school. Except that he was too playful, playing with his toys, eating a lot of breakfast, and not coughing that much at all. Nice try little buddy.

Happy Birthday To My Kiddies.

2009-01-22T07:23:00.000-08:00

I know I have been bad about blogging, especially on special occasions such as my kids' birthdays. Last Thursday we celebrated the girls' birthday with both grandparents. We ate at the Macaroni Grille and adjourned back to our place for cake and present opening. I can't believe that the girls' are already 4! Wow!

Last night (Wednesday) was Jadon's turn. We followed the same formula as the girls' except we went to the Elephant Bar. He's such a big boy at age 6. I make fun of him (and his classmates too) about the fact that he's 6 and still calls Fiona, "Momma." Fiona just loves it and continues to hope that he'll call her that forever.

The celebration isn't over yet, in a couple of weeks we are holding a combined birthday party for Jadon, Natalie, & Vanessa by inviting their friends and family to Pump-It-Up. It's a bounce house place. Even parents can play too!

Coin Collecting Hobby.

2009-01-07T10:48:00.000-08:00

As of late, I have been really getting into coin collecting. Not too serious yet, I'll buy something here or there (and if it's really inexpensive). It actually started with the collecting of the state quarters (I need three more to complete the set!). Then last year (and this year) Fiona got me that years set (i.e. 2007 presidential coins, quarters, dimes, nickels, etc). Then I got a a few Morgan Silver Dollars (my mom's indirect influence; she had me order some for herself so I got myself some). Then I bought the entire set (uncirculated) state quarters for pretty good price (plus it came with some nickel set for free).

It was yesterday that I thought I would never do, but did. I was watching the Coin Collection on the Home Shopping Network (HSN). I went gaga over an item that the were selling, the entire state quarter set in 24k gold plated. I went so far as to call Fiona up and ask her if I could get it. It looks nicely presented and the sale price of it was reasonable (compared to the retail price). She gave the green light and I actually ordered something from HSN!

Sibling Love.

2009-01-07T08:33:00.001-08:00

So here is how a conversation on how Jadon shows his love for his sisters (and this is repeated and repeated):

Jadon: Natalie, do you like me?

Natalie: No.

Jadon: Fine, then I am not going to pick you up anymore. Vanessa, do you like me?

Vanessa: Yes.

Jadon: Fine, then I will pick you up.

What a weirdo.

Date With My Girls.

2009-01-05T06:45:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was a really productive day for me. Fiona, Jadon, and Fiona's parents went to watch some Chinese show out in Pasadena. So I had the girls all to myself for about 8 hours. I took the girls to my work for about 30 minutes. After being off from work for a few weeks, I figured I would get myself re-acclimated before I actually have to go into work the following day. Then we went over to Fiona's parents house where I took down all the Christmas lights and other decorations. After an hour of that I took the girls home for their afternoon nap. During that time I washed both cars. That took nearly 2 hours and by the time I finished, Vanessa had woken up. After I woke Natalie up, I ended up vacuuming the house. After hearing Jadon complaining "What is all this crap on the stairs?" and Natalie bothered by the "spiders" (black lint) on the carpet, I figured it was about time to bring out the Dyson. After that I got in 30 minutes of Wii jogging. Dinner time was rolling around and I took the girls out to Ruby's for some burgers and shakes. Then before going home, we stop by Target to pick up some orange juice that Fiona requested. I was pretty exhausted but the girls and I had fun.

First Of 2009.

2009-01-05T06:39:00.000-08:00

Hope everyone had a great Christmas and Happy New Years.

I was off of work from the 24th until Jan. 5th. We had a good Christmas followed by a trip to Las Vegas for three nights. Then the rest of vacation was spent trying to relax and recover from cold/coughs. Fiona was the only one who hasn't caught anything and for myself, it's been pretty mild (compared to the kids). All in all it was good.

Jadon's Christmas Program.

2008-12-20T07:58:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, Jadon's kindergarten class (as well two other kindergarten classes) held a Christmas singing program. Jadon even had a solo part, albeit it was a one liner. So I left work for a few hours to catch it. Fiona and the girls were already there and Fiona's parents and my dad show up later. So it was a good size cheering section. Between my dad and I, we were snapping shots every which way (along with my father-in-law). Fiona was using her camera for video. So for the first 10 minutes or so my dad was shooting away, checking each shot before taking the next one. He kept on zooming in to be sure he got a good shot of Jadon except he was zooming on the wrong kid. I eventually told him that he's shooting the wrong kid. Haahahhaah! The program last only 45 minutes but Jadon did great. He did the hand motions and sang his one liner beautifully.

Blue Belt Boy.

2008-12-09T06:51:00.000-08:00

I think I neglected to blog when Jadon tested for purple belt in his Tae Kwon Do class but he just tested yesterday and he is on to blue belt. He did pretty well on his form. When all the purple belts were going through the initial stage of techniques, there was a girl to his left who did some spinning round house kick and she lost her balance and landed pretty hard on her chin. Luckily the floor was padded but she laughed it off as an embarrassment. I'm just glad it wasn't Jadon. I hope Fiona got that on footage so I can post it =)

Waiting For The Holidays....

2008-12-05T09:14:00.000-08:00

Well, I got just about all of my X-Mas shopping done. I finished Fiona's and have it all wrapped up. The kids' presents are just about done, although we do have to do some of their birthday shopping as well (since it's coming up too). We haven't gotten a tree yet but that is on our agenda come next week. Otherwise, I'm just waiting and waiting.....

I Gotta Get Myself One Of These:

2008-12-05T09:05:00.001-08:00

It's a Yao Ming Transformer! Sweet!

Nice And Relaxing....

2008-12-01T06:48:00.000-08:00

My Thanksgiving was nothing but relaxing.....sort of. For lunch, we hung out at Fiona's parents. I spent the first hour of it setting up Christmas lights out on their house. Then for the evening we went over to Pete's place for dinner. The kids had their usual fun playing with their cousins. Unfortunately it had to end with my kiddies getting their flu shots. My mom dished them out and Jadon ended up being the worse one kicking and screaming.

This year I decided to not venture out for the early morning (i.e. 5:00am) Black Friday sales. Fiona, the kids and I did hit some stores in the later part of the morning. I ended up getting a few dvd/blu rays.

On Sunday, Fiona and I finished up the lights at her parents house before we went out to celebrate her dad's birthday.

There you have it (not much for details). Can't wait until the next holiday break. I'm taking the last week off in December.

Karate Kid redo?

2008-11-11T09:55:00.000-08:00

Has it been that long since the original Karate Kid came out? Now Columbia Pictures is planning on a remake starring Jaden Smith (Will Smith's son).

Check the article out here.

You know you're getting old when they start remaking movies that you grew up watching.

Christmas Shopping Has Begun!

2008-11-11T07:00:00.000-08:00

I think I did a title like this some years back.

Well, we have started our Christmas shopping. We started with Jadon since he seems the easiest. Fiona wants to expose him to the more main stream boy themes out there: Star Wars, Transformers, Power Rangers, Pokemon. So far we got him a couple of Star Wars Light Sabers. I told Fiona we should get two so he and I can play (I always wanted a light saber). We also bought a Transformer figurine for him as well. I've never heard of the character 'Acid Storm' before but its a Decepticon (bad guy) fighter jet. I think he'll get a kick out of that.

As for the girls, we're not sure what we are going to get yet. My Little Pony? Barbie?

Longest Away Yet.

2008-11-10T10:07:00.000-08:00

So a few weeks ago my in-laws came back from a 7 week business/vacation/missions trip to China, Hong Kong, and Singapore. A week later they were talking about going to the Grand Canyon and taking Jadon a long. So the plan was to take him this last Friday and go until Tuesday. Jadon had a minimum day on Friday and has Monday off due to Veteran's Day. So he would miss Tuesday and possibly Wednesday school. Well as time was getting near, Fiona's dad saw this great deal for a Hawaii Package during that same time. I guess he figured, might as well spend a little more but a better trip. So off Jadon went with his grandparents to the land of paradise.

This has been the longest that Jadon has been away from us. Not sure how Fiona feels, but I am ok with it so far. Don't get me wrong, we miss the big guy but trimming our kiddie household by 1/3 has it's benefits too (taking one less bath, one less yapper, one less complainer, one less mouth to feed).

The Light At The End Of The Tunnel?

2008-11-04T06:30:00.001-08:00

Usually it isn't a big deal when a child/baby cry when you drop him/her off at school or daycare or therapy. When we dropped Jadon off at school, it took only a few times for him to get over it. The same way with Vanessa too. But in Natalie's case, it's been long lasting and annoysome. She has been going to therapy for a few years and every time Fiona drops her off, she cries (sometimes pouts and clings). We've been dropping her off at Sunday (or in our case Saturday) school at church for quite some time now and she still cries. And of course school is the same for her as well. I understand the separation anxiety part but there's a time to grow out of it and Natalie hasn't gotten there. In some cases it seems to be getting worse.

Well yesterday, Fiona told me that she didn't cry, twice I might add. She had two therapy sessions in the morning and she didn't cry. I praised, hugged, kissed, and told her "How happy momma and dadda are." She was all over that. I hope she has gotten over that hump.

Priced Match Again!

2008-10-24T12:37:00.000-07:00

I love Vanns.com. I just checked out their site about 30 minutes ago and they had lowered the T.V. I purchased again by another $100. I emailed them to see if they'd do another price match. They emailed me back within 10 minutes saying that the price indeed dropped and that I should see a credit back on my card within 3-5 days. Sweet!

New T.V.!

2008-10-20T10:24:00.000-07:00

We finally entered the Digital world by making a purchase on a new Sony H.D. LCD T.V. I had done a lot of research and discussion with Fiona before making the purchase.

I started off looking at the Vizio's at Costco and I originally limited my search to 37" screens because that was about the the maximum size that would fit our armoire in the living room. But then the specs got more specific. Vizio only offered 720p and Fiona and I figured that if we were going to make a jump, then we should get a set that would offer a higher resolution size. So I looked at the 1080p sets.

I broaden our search to Toshiba, Sharp, Samsung, and Sony. After talking to a few sales people and doing some online research, I narrowed it down to either Samsung or Sony. Then I looked at Sony's 37" XBR set and had my mind focused on that until my co-worker started mentioning that there are some 40+ inch sets that still might fit in my armoire with smaller bezels on the side.

I once again broaden my search to Sony's 40" sets. Sony has 5 different 40" (6 including their new updated XBR series) T.V.s, all priced differently. So I had to go and research the differences (i.e. contrast ratio, motion flow, x.v. color). I had my eye on the second cheapest level that Sony offered. But Fiona wanted to check it out at the Sony Style store in South Coast Plaza. So we went down there and she fell in love with the XBR series (top of the line level), also quite pricey. So I went back home and did some more research and we finally compromised on getting the second best level. It went slightly over our budget but I still got an awesome deal.

I ended up ordering from a site called Vanns'com. It wasn't the cheapest online but it was pretty competitive and I was quite comfortable with the site. It's located in Montana and has six physical locations and they had really high review scores. They offered free shipping, no sales tax, PLUS they were running an offer of a free Sony Blu Ray DVD player with select Sony T.V.s I ordered the T.V. last Saturday, they shipped it out on Monday, and I received it on Thursday. Quite Fast. Not only that but the site had lowered it's price by $100 and they priced matched it. Sweet! Usually I don't blog, in specifics, about my major purchases but I have to say that this was one of my best experiences with online purchasing. I'd definitely recommend that site.

I love my new toy and picture quality is phenomenal.

Purple Belt!

2008-10-20T10:20:00.000-07:00

Last Monday, Jadon took his test for Purple Belt for Tae Kwon Do. Although he messed up on a part of his form he still passed (of course)! This boy is moving on up. Next up is Blue belt.

Raging Waters, Kinderfest, and Old Memories.

2008-10-07T18:11:00.000-07:00

Two Saturdays ago I took Jadon to Raging Waters. My co-worker goes out there each year to promote my company (at a shared booth with Blue Cross) at one of contracts' functions. Each year, the Association of Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs (ALADS) blocks out Raging Waters (after the park closes for the seasons) and treats their members. Everything was free (food and all). My co-worker invited me and told me I can take the family. Fiona stayed at home with the girls and I took Jadon. He just had a blast. They have a water-playground which he thoroughly enjoyed and We went on some of the big rides. We were there for about 3 hours total.

This past Saturday we went to what was called "Kinderfest" (Octoberfest for kids). It was in Huntington Beach. One of my other co-workers had mentioned it and she gave me a couple of admission coupons. So we got in for free! The even was quite small actually and we primarily went there to see the Dachshund races. Otherwise that was pretty much it. We were there for probably less then an hour.

After we left Kinderfest, we were driving around and I decided that since we were so close to my old house when I was a kid, that we could stop by and look. I lived there from age 1 to 4 and I remembered a little wooden bridge in the front yard. Guess what? It's still there! Holy cow!

Then after that we decided to head on over to Lee's Sandwich over by my old college at UC Irvine. We strolled the student center, which was totally remodeled. Then we had some good sandwiches for dinner.

All the memories........

Utter Frustration and Stress.

2008-09-11T08:49:00.000-07:00

I had briefly mentioned that the kids and I were involved in a minor accident when we were up in Mammoth a few weeks ago. Fiona was in the restroom at the time. Well in a nut shell, our car was parked (engine on) in line to get our car looked at at Chevron full station service. We waited off to the side of the premises and while that occurred, a camper was maneuvering itself to turn into the gas station to fill up. The driver had plenty of room but hit my car. I approached the driver as he pulled up to the gas pump to inform him that he had hit my car. He wasn't even aware that a collision had a occurred. So after looking at the damages (dent in my rear bumper and scratches along the side of his passenger side camper), we swapped information and that was that.

Well as it turned out, the bastard decided to lie and tell his insurance (as well as mine) that I reversed my car into him. Um he has scratches and I have a dent.....if I backed up into him would he not have a dent as well? Wouldn't he have felt the collision? I actually called the guy to try and appeal to his good senses and tried to challenge him to take the moral path. That was not to be. He wouldn't even let me get in a word edge wise. He said that he "knew exactly how I felt" because he thinks I am lying. So with his rudeness and discourteous manner by constantly interrupting me, I called him an A-Hole and hung up on him. In retrospect, I should have kept calm and I shouldn't have called. I haven't been that angry in a long long time. It was so bad that I lost my lunch appetite and my stomach was just crampy the rest of the day. I was attempting to let my frustration out and it came out wrong. But still, he is an a-hole.

I dealt with his insurance and they too seem inconsistent (don't get me started on my conversation with them). So now both insurances are taking this claim to a third party arbitrator. Although I feel pretty confident in my case (with the pictures and my statement), there is this worry that, what if the bastard wins? Time will tell and I have to just pray, keep a level head, and to not worry about it. Sigh.

Number Two.

2008-09-08T19:03:00.000-07:00

Today, at work, we scanned a celebrity but due to patient confidentiality, I cannot name the person. Let's say we'll call him Number Two, a.k.a. Dr. Evil's right hand man. From afar it didn't look like him at all. He has definitely aged, all white hair. As he got closer and we introduced each other, he was definitely recognizable.

My Son.....In Love?

2008-09-06T10:32:00.001-07:00

The other day, we rode home after just eating out with my parents for dinner, Jadon said that there is a girl at school that he wants to marry. Fiona and I looked at each other amused but curious. Here's how the conversation went:

Fiona: What's her name?

Jadon: Her name is Jocelyn.

Fiona: Well why do you want to marry her?

Jadon: Well on the first day, she ran after me. Then the next day we didn't play. Yesterday we didn't play. Today she ran after me. (something to that effect)

Fiona: What color hair does she have?

Jadon: Hmmmm....that's a good question. I don't know.

So now Fiona and I are really curious to who she is and what she looks like. So far we have found out that she has brown hair and Jadon continues to say that he loves her. Really cute.

It's Been A While....

2008-09-02T16:52:00.000-07:00

....Since I last blogged but I have updated my Flickr site which will show some of the things that have happened.

1) Jadon has now graduated to Green Belt in Tae Kwon Do.

2) Jadon has started kKindergarten.

3) Natalie and Vanessa had their first day of preschool today. They both cried when Fiona and I dropped them off and left.

4) This past weekend we had a family road trip up to Mammoth Lakes. The vacation was met with mixed reviews. It would have turned out fine except someone hit our car.

Future Mother's Day.

2008-07-28T07:41:00.000-07:00

Jadon was having this conversation with his sisters while we were on our way to dinner with my parents:

Jadon: When I grow up, I am going to take you (Vanessa), Natalie, Jessie, and Sydney out to lunch and dinner for Mother's day.

Vanessa: Is Momma going to be there?

Jadon: No, she'll be dead.

Hahahahahahahha!

Batman: The Dark Knight. Two Thumbs Up.

2008-07-28T07:32:00.000-07:00

The same day that we went to the Circus, I ended up catching Batman, The Dark Knight with my friend Steve. That movie was awesome. The theater was packed too. Heath Ledger as the Joker was spine-tingling sensational. The only thing that you can recognize from him is his hair, otherwise he hides his Australian accent. The movie was a complete 180 from the first Christopher Nolan directed Batman. If you didn't know who directed it between the two, one would have thought that it was two totally different directors. Aaron Eckhart did and awesome role as Harvey Dent. The only thing that they could have done better was pick a better actress to play Rachel Dawes (played by Katie Holmes in the first installment).

I would definitely love to watch this movie again in theaters (preferably in IMAX), but don't take your kids. It's definitely a lot darker Batman. I was a little surprised that it got a PG-13 rating.

Circus In Town!

2008-07-28T07:26:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday we took the kiddies to the Ringling Bros. And Barnum & Bailey Circus Show at the Honda Center in Anaheim. I have to tell you that the Circus is a lot more different then when I went over 10 years ago. The kids just loved it (Fiona and I loved it too). So much action going on. There are some pictures and footage that I'll post up on flickr shortly.

Odd Question....

2008-07-07T22:26:00.000-07:00

So for dinner tonight, we went to the Pasta Bravo by our place because they have a 'Kids Eat free' on Sundays and Mondays. I ordered my dish and then Fiona order her dish along with two kids meals. The clerk rings us up and then mentions the 'Kids Eat Free' offer and asks "Would you like that?" Huh?!?! Is this a trick question?

Happy Birthday America!

2008-07-04T17:26:00.000-07:00

I took the prior two days off leading up to the 4th. On Wednesday morning we headed to Sea World down in San Diego. We saw tons of shows and stayed until nearly 10:00p.m.! We stayed at the Hyatt Hotel nearby. Fiona Pricelined the hotel and then got us upgraded into a corner suite. I would say that the two rooms retail for $550 and she got them for $160! That was pretty awesome. Nice view with connecting rooms. At Sea World we saw a Sea Lion & Otter show (2 different ones), dolphin show (2 different ones), a Cirque de Mer (similar to Cirque De Soliel), 2 Shamu shows, fireworks, an Elmo ride, Penguin Encounters walkthrough, and a Sharks Encounters walkthrough. We did all that and the girls managed, literally, a two minute nap. The definitely conked out at bedtime.

This morning (4th of July), I took Jadon to see his first theater movie. We watched Disney's Wall-E. It was a cute and really good movie. Jadon seemed to have enjoyed it although he did ask "Is it almost over?"

Anyways, I'm about to eat some dinner and then take the family out to watch some fireworks. Hope you all have a safe and happy 4th!

Fitted Finally.

2008-06-29T09:18:00.000-07:00

So I have secured a Wii Fit. Shortly after midnight, Fiona checked the online ads and found Target to be selling it. That meant that I had to wake up early in the morning, 5:30a.m. to be precised. I got to our local Target at 5:45 a.m. and was the first one there. The next person showed up 45 minutes later. The line built up to about 10 before a Target "team member" came out to tell us that there were 8 Fits in store and to give us tickets. That was at about 7:40a.m. They opened the doors at precisely 8:00a.m. and the rest was history. I played a small joke on Fiona. When I got home she proceeded to ask me "well?" I told her that I was the third in line and they only had 2!. Her response was "What?!?!?!?!" Then I told her that I was kidding and that I got one. I just loved her response. I know, I'm mean.

Well it's time to try to get in shape and hopefully this will help.....

Almost Fit.

2008-06-15T12:47:00.001-07:00

This morning, Father's Day, I checked the online ads for multiple locations for the Wii Fit. I saw Circuit City's ad having them. So I hit the local one nearby at about 8:15 am. The store opens up at 10:00am. I was the 9th person in line and stood a good chance of getting one. The previous week, Best Buy had them with a minimum of 10 per store. Well at 9:45 am. a Circuit City employee came out to give vouchers except they only had 6!!!!! What the?!?!?! So close.......

Jadon The Orange Belt.

2008-06-13T11:49:00.000-07:00

Jadon has graduated to orange belt in his Tae Kwon Do class. I'll post some pictures and a video. He tested earlier then we had anticipated, but his master thought he was ready. He was lost when he underwent testing but did well enough to pass (I don't think they ever not pass a student).

Countdown To......

2008-06-13T11:45:00.000-07:00

.....being diaper/pull-ups free is beginning. The girls are coming a long with their potty training. Natalie was pooping in the potty way before Vanessa, but Vanessa has come on strong peeing and pooping a lot in the potty and hardly any in her pull-ups. Yesterday Fiona started putting the girls in underwear. Vanessa had no accidents and Natalie had two. This morning Natalie had another accident (on our couch) and asked to put back into her pull-ups. Can't wait to not have to change them anymore.

Question Of The Day.

2008-06-03T21:58:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, we drove home. I had just parked the car in the garage. We were listening to Tom Jones "What's New Pussycat?" And Jadon pops this question:

"What's a pussy?"

I just busted up. Enough said.

Wii'ed Again.

2008-05-23T12:15:00.000-07:00

So I purchased the Nintendo Wii....again (after I had returned it last year). I figured it could be an early birthday present to myself (and I figured I would expose Jadon to the gaming world as well). Actually I went to Circuit City this past Tuesday and inquired if they happened to have anymore. Of course they didn't and apparently it is still being sold out after the first initial day. I called Best Buy up and they ran out as well. So I figured I would wait until the weekend and go early in the morning, wait in line, etc. Well on Wednesday, the family and I went down to the Irvine Spectrum to walk around. We dropped in on the Target store down there and I decided to check and see if they had any Wiis there (which I had doubted). They had three in their display case which surprised me. The clerk said he was surprised as well but that the shipment had just come in that day. So I picked one up. Now I just have to get a few accessories for it (i.e. another controller, charging station). Any recommendations (as far as good active, exercising games)?

Funny But Mean.

2008-05-06T11:21:00.001-07:00

Jadon thinks that Fiona can fly. Of course it doesn't help that she tells him that she can. He's asked her to fly but she tells him that she only does it after she puts him and the girls to bed. Then he says that he wants to fly but that he can't. And we go on to tell him that he needs to eat more and get stronger and that he's too young. He asked me the other day if I could fly and I tell him sometimes I do. Fiona's response "But not as good as me." =P

She Almost Gave Me A Heart Attack.

2008-04-24T07:16:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday night (Sunday morning), Fiona just about gave me a heart attack. It started out over a year a go where Fiona had this cyst-of-sorts that appeared on her thigh. The doctor said that it's fine as long as it doesn't grow. Well about a month ago it looked like it was advancing. So Fiona had made an appointment with the dermatologist for this past Monday. Well last Friday it got worse. Fiona was feeling pain and was in discomfort. Well in the middle of the night on Saturday (1:30 am), Fiona woke up with a lot of pain. She went to the bathroom to use the toilet. When she stood up and walked over to the sink, she yelled out my name and then "boom!" I woke up groggily (but hurriedly) to where Fiona was. She was on the floor either fainted or knocked out. I picked her up (which in the aftermath I probably shouldn't have done in case she had a spinal injury) and put her on the bed. I called her name but she was nonresponsive. I kept calling her name and then I noticed that there was blood on her forehead. That just made my heart beat even faster. Panic mode was setting in. Then a few seconds later she responded. Oh my gosh what a huge relief. She was out of it. I told her that her that her face was bleeding. As it turned out she had two cuts on her face. She said that her head was throbbing and that her chin and teeth were numb.

I called my parents and they came over to watch the kids while I took Fiona to the E.R. down in Mission Viejo (fyi, they are really really efficient down there). They drugged Fiona up, performed a CAT scan of her head (normal), cut the cyst open to the let the fluids come out and gave her 7 stitches on her face. We were out in about 4 hours. What a day I tell ya. I don't know what I would have done if the worse were to happen. She's my best friend and soulmate. And just the thought of losing my wife brings tears to my eyes.

Now she is recuperating. She is still in discomfort but getting better. I'm grateful for my parents help and I am grateful to God for getting us through this.

Las Vegasversary!

2008-04-11T15:12:00.000-07:00

Holy cow! It's been a long time since I last blogged.

This past weekend (actually Monday through Tuesday) we went to Vegas for Fiona and I's 8th Anniversary. If you recall, we went there last year. This time it ended much better with no puking in sight. The kids were great. We stayed at the same hotel as well. This time we stayed for two nights! The first day there we hit up the buffet at Planet Hollywood Hotel (previously Aladdin). That place is probably one of the better ones. After that we roamed the shops and caught a performance show (free of course) with really bendable acrobats. We attempted to go to Excalibur but all the kiddies were getting too tired so we headed back to the hotel.

The following day we headed out to Lake Las Vegas Resort. It was about 30 minutes out from the strip. It was quite refreshing with the greenery from the golf course. Although it still needs work from completion of shops. We followed it up with a stop at Ethel M's Chocolated Factory (the same one that we went to last year). We love their chocolates. Went back to the hotel for a quick rest and then headed out to Excalibur. We were kind of disappointed with that hotel. We bailed from there and headed to the buffet at the Mirage. It was average. Not as good as Planet Hollywood and it cost a few bucks more. After that we went to Circus Circus but the dome was closed! Doh! So we headed to the Midway (at Circus Circus as well) and played some games. Jadon kept on thinking he was going to play games in the Casino. Each kid left with a stuffed flamingo. That was it for that night.

The last day we went to the Palazzo and Venetian Hotels (interconnected). We roamed the forums and took pictures. After that we headed to Caesar's Palace for lunch at Trevi's. Then we ended it off with another visit at Ethel M's. Love their chocolates (did I say that before?).

We got back home at about 7:00pm. The next day (I also had the day off) we dropped Jadon off at school and headed out to Las Brisas for a breakfast buffet. It was located down in Laguna Beach (right off the coast). The sun was out, we had a great view, and breakfast was quite delectable. After that we strolled around and we actually saw some dolphins swimming near the shoreline. That was quite unbelievable.

Well that is it for now. I think I will post some pictures on flickr.

Salvation Army.

2008-03-03T07:09:00.000-08:00

It's been at least two years but we finally found out! Right about the time we tried to enroll Jadon at the Salvation Army Preschool, we found out there was a wait list. From what we heard that list was about 400+ kids. Oiy! So we put the girls on the list as well. As it turned out, Jadon never made it in to the 30-40 student class. But this last week, Fiona called in and found out that the girls did make in! Yippee. It's almost like a mini lottery and we won! Hopefully it's worth the hype and the level of educations matches the popularity.

Been A Long Time.....

2008-02-26T12:08:00.000-08:00

Since I last blogged. What's been happening:

-Been really busy at work racking up a lot of comp time. I'm no longer hourly which I miss because I could have had a lot of overtime. But my "boss" or the person who doles out the paychecks went cheap on me and switched me over to salaried to save on that.

-Was sick. It was a nasty one too. Probably the worst headache that I have ever experienced mixed that in with a fever, body aches, stuffy nose, and a cough. Not onl that but the kids were sick too (as well as Fiona).

-Natalie has been decent with her potty training. Vanessa on the other hand is a defiant little bugger. She has yet to go poop (with the exception of when she pooped outside of the potty).

That's been it in a nutshell. I got Fiona's birthday to plan for. Yippee!!

I'm Happy To Say.....

2008-02-03T10:51:00.000-08:00

That Natalie has gone poopoo in the potty for the first time. Boy was I persistent this morning. I sat her on the potty for 3 times. 3rd times a charm I guess. It was a celebratory affair too. I told her if she went poopoo in the potty, that she would get toys and dessert! Fiona and I would have thought Vanessa would have been the first one. Now Vanessa is on the potty. Our first step towards being a diaper-free household. Yipee!!!

No Time To Blog.

2008-01-25T06:28:00.000-08:00

I've been sick and been working up in L.A. as of late. I wanted to blog about Jadon's birthday this past Monday but I'll have to do that perhaps next week (as well as post some pictures).

The Girls' Turned 3!

2008-01-16T07:36:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was the girls' birthday. We celebrated it at BJ's Pizza nearby with both folks. Then afterwards we adjourned back to our place for cakes (one each for the girls) and present openings. Fiona's parents got them a few books and the new toddler beds. My parents got them a Disney Princesses puzzle, as well as the Rose Petal Cottage (with all the accessories). The cottage is pretty neat. It's very detailed and quite sturdy. I especially love the stove, washer, and sink accessories. From us, the girls got some laptops. That was probably their favorite.

It was capped off with Jadon acting cranky and then eventually a cry. Natalie and Vanessa on the other hand were in the happiest of moods (especially Natalie). So next up, Jadon's birthday......

I Hate Transitions.

2008-01-14T07:01:00.000-08:00

So after a productive weekend of doing a room make over for the girls (replacing beds and dresser) how do I get rewarded? A 2:30am wake up from Vanessa talking and yapping and banging on the door. Boy did I get furious. I went into their room a few more times after that (once to change a stinky diaper). I was up for another hour and half after that. So at 4:00 am I decided to just get dressed for work (that way I wouldn't toss and turn and get up an hour later and end up waking Fiona), went downstairs, and took a quick snooze. Let's just say I am friggin' tired. All I have to say is this better not happen tonight.

Busy Weeks Ahead.

2008-01-10T09:58:00.000-08:00

The next week and half (to two weeks) are going to be quite busy, with the girls' birthdays coming up as well as Jadon's. But the big thing keeping me busy will be the room make-overs that we are doing for the kids' room. Jadon's make over is minor. We bought him a desk to put my old computer on. We added a street-themed rug to go with the overall car theme of his room. We'll probably get new bedding and hang up some pictures. I moved his dresser as well. As for the girls, it will be pretty significant. We bought two toddler beds (which we will be transitioning them into), as well as a new dresser (all furniture will be white). So those three pieces of furniture will be assembled. Then I have to disassemble the cribs. There is one place that I could sell them. The thing is I have to bring one of them in at a time (so that means setting up two different appointments). Plus when I take the cribs to the store, I have to reassemble it there! As for the dresser/changing table, I will have to take it down to the local charity and donate it. My back is already creaking at the thought of that. Can't wait for it to be all over (or is it ever over?).

Goodbye Pacifiers!

2008-01-07T07:12:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we pushed up the date to get rid of the girls' pacifiers. Originally we were planning to do it on their third birthday (which would have been next week), but then in the morning they were throwing their pacifiers out of the bed. So in a quick ceremony we had the girls say goodbye to their pacifiers and had them throw it away. For the past few weeks we have been prepping them up for this moment. We'd tell them that they are big girls now and that they don't need their 'pacis' anymore (so no more crying). When it was time to put them for their naps and for bedtime, they whimpered and cried (Natalie more so then Vanessa). In place of their 'pacis' they snuggled up with their stuffed dogs that they got from Singapore. Pretty soon we are planning to transition them to toddler beds and hopefully potty train them. Can't wait to go diaper free.

K.I.T.T. Fan.

2007-12-31T08:14:00.001-08:00

This is a shot of what the new K.I.T.T. (Knight Industries Three Thousand) will look like. I am starting to get a little ramped up with the new Knight Rider movie-made-for-tv coming out in February. I was a big fan of the original series starring David Hasselhoff. Although when they came out with a short series back in 1994 called Knight Rider 2010, it was quite disappointing. Here is an article comparing the specs on the old KITT and the new one.

I am also a fan of the newly redesigned Mustang and I actually would have liked to have gotten one but I have to contend to common, practical sense (and with my wife).

Speaking of cars, a few weeks ago I did a trade-in on my lease Accord. I had to return it in a few months but I did find a dealership that ended up buying it outright so I didn't have to make the remaining payments. Here is what my car looks like:

It's an 2008 Acura TL in royal blue. 3.2liter, 258 horsepower, leather interior, Navigation, Bluetooth, Sunroof, ACURA ELS Stereo. This was another car that I had my eye on for quite sometime. I love it.

Yea, New Computer!

2007-12-27T07:41:00.000-08:00

At last, we have finally bought a new computer (it's a Dell). It just arrived last night. I didn't realize that Fed-Ex delivered past 8:00pm. I figured it was long over due. The computer that we currently use is nearly 8 years (or so) old. It was a computer that I assembled (with help from friends) and it actually runs pretty remarkable still. But it was time to upgrade and also switch out the old CRT monitor for a nice 19" lcd one. It's nice! The cpu is a 2.4 ghz quad core processor with 320 gb hard drive, 1 gb of DDR SDRAM (to be upgraded later), with a Windows XP operating system (heard that Vista sucks). I only got around to unpacking it. Today (I hope) I will try to take out some components (hard drive, dvd writer) from the old computer and plop them in the new one.

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-25T11:23:00.001-08:00

Hope you all have a Happy Holidays!

A Strip I Can Relate To.

2007-12-20T10:09:00.000-08:00

This is an article of an employee who posted a Dilbert comic strip at work and got fired:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22328272/?GT1=10645

and here is the strip:

For All Of You Gambling/Casino Freaks

2007-12-18T12:20:00.000-08:00

Any of you work out of a cubicle? Then this design is for you!

Tradition.

2007-12-13T13:32:00.000-08:00

Sticking with our family year tradition, everyone got sick. If you go back into past December (and perhaps November) blogs, we get sick. Jadon had a minor bout of some type of stomach sickness. It only lasted a day but it did it's damage. Two pukes, one all over his bed and wall, and one on the carpet. Fiona and I are dealing with coughs and colds. Ugh.

1st Stage Potty Poopers.

2007-12-10T09:56:00.000-08:00

This past Saturday we started the journey to become a diaper free household. It started off with Vanessa wanting to try out and sit on the potty seat. Then Natalie followed. They didn't do anything but sit. It's a start. Can't wait until I don't have to change (and spend) diapers anymore.

Major Jet Lagged.

2007-12-05T07:50:00.000-08:00

We're still all a bit jet lagged. I'm suffering more from the kids though. I get up a couple of times a night either because the girls are yapping their heads off in bed at 2:00am or because Jadon is going to the bathroom 6 times through out the night. And once I wake up, it takes me an hour to fall back to sleep.

Singapore Trip Details.

2007-12-01T11:35:00.000-08:00

So on November 14th, Wedensday night, Fiona, the kids and I went to Singapore. It was the kids' first time on an airplane. Yikes! Suffice to say, the kids acted better than expected. The kids' slept relatively well. I sat with Jadon and Vanessa on the window side and Fiona sat with Natalie in the middle seat. Luckily the passenger sitting next to Natalie was quite patient and pleasant because Natalie has a tendency to fidget in her sleep.

So after the long 20 or so hours of flight time, mixed in with a lame 1 hour stopover in Taipei (where Natalie crapped her pants), we arrived in Singapore. We were greeted by the kids' great grandparents. That was a great sight to see. The kids' took an immediate liking to them. It also helped that they had Lapis Cake (a Singaporean must!) with them. We took a shuttle over to our hotel and thus began our vacation.

The first few days were spent recuperating and hanging out with Paul and Nicha. They came to visit us with was exceptionally nice of them. The kids' had a ball with them, especially Jadon.

Pretty much the rest of the vacation was spent with relatives, eating out, going to dozens of shopping malls (only but a fraction). Special thanks to Great Uncle Albert and Lao Ei for spending so much time with us. There were so many things that the kids experienced: going to the Bird Park, going on the Sky Tram (360 view of Singapore), dazzling water show (which dwarfs the Bellagio show), riding the Cable Cars.

We came back from out trip last night which again turned out fine. This time I sat next to the girls and Fiona had Jadon. I have to say that I am most impressed with Singapore's Changi Airport for their nice terminals and their exceptional efficiency. And I also have to say that I am quite disappointed with LAX. We landed and took forever getting off. They plane dropped us off out of the middle of nowhere. We had to take a bus to our gate (which was undergoing renovations). Then it took us over an hour to get our luggage (probably the worst that I have experienced). Then it took us a few hours to get home through Super Shuttle because of the amount of passengers it had to drop off (plus Friday night traffic).

I'll post more details of the trip through the posting of pictures on my flickr site.

Singapore'd Out.

2007-11-30T23:37:00.001-08:00

The reason why I haven't been blogging lately was because I just got back from a trip to Singapore. I got back about 5 hours ago. We went for two weeks (starting on the 15th). I'm pretty beat so I will fill in the details as the week goes on.

Fillin' Pretty Good.

2007-11-06T07:51:00.000-08:00

Jadon had a scheduled dental appointment yesterday to get some fillings done. Believe it or not, he did not cry! Fiona opted to not have the laughing gas used, which saved us 70 bucks. Although he was (from what I heard) curiously antsy. So Jadon was watching the movie Cars with some headphones on while the DDS was working on his teeth. When she administered the shot(s) to numb the area. Jadon would mention it hurting and the DDS would apologize and give him an excuse that she was looking around his teeth and poked him by accident. This visit didn't seem to deter him because he wanted to come back the next day! He got a little toy car from the treasure box and he was a happy happy little camper. I wonder if they take adults.

Still Going....

2007-11-01T11:49:00.000-07:00

My exercising is still going after a month and a half. I have changed it up a bit from just running. I actually do some form of "sweating" exercise everyday. In the beginning, I use to try to just run every other day (or 3 times a week) but I pushed that to almost everyday. Then I would mix in a little Billie Blanks' Tae Bo. Fiona bought the dvd a while back and we both have been doing it. You look a little silly at first but you get a nice little work out. Since the fires hit So Cal, I have had to resort to exercising indoors. So it's nothing but Tae Bo. So far my results have yielded me a loss of almost 10 lbs. Yippee! But I still need to lose more.

What Kind Of Language Are They Speaking?

2007-11-01T10:23:00.000-07:00

Kids' imaginations can be great along with their made up vocabulary phrases. A lot of the phrases are coming from Jadon and the girls are just picking it up. Here are the phrases that they use (and that I have no clue if they know what they mean):

"Read Wash Ship Shop" - completely clueless as to what that could mean.
"Mad Dash" - Not sure where Jadon got this from but all the kids use this one on each other to piss each other off (which in turns pisses me off).
"Happy Dash" - A variant form of mad dash. They all demand that they are happy dash and once we acknowledge that they are, they are quiet.
"Kreachy Crab" - I am not sure why Jadon started saying this. He just started to say this and just busted out laughing.
"Almost time for the big back show" - Jadon made this up and he says he heard this from a cartoon (which he doesn't remember). Vanessa loves to say it.

Some of the times Fiona and I will play along but then it gets so annoysome at others.

On another note Vanessa is able to count to ten and sing her ABCs. Her voice is really cute. When we ask her to recite it for other people she gets all shy and bashful.

Fire Frightened.

2007-10-22T09:58:00.000-07:00

I'm not talking about this upcoming Halloween. I'm referring to the Santiago Canyon Fire (one of almost a dozen Southern California Fires) that started last night. That was in our neck of the woods and we were at a point where we had some things packed and put in our car in case of an evacuation. We were probably about 7-10 minutes away from the fire but with the way the winds have been gusting (25-60 mph), the flames could have (and still could) spread super fast. So I asked Fiona if she had packed any clothes at that point and she said that she hadn't. She just packed up snacks and drinks. I guess we know where her head (or should I say stomach) was. The in-laws, who live about 5 minutes away from us, were evacuated though. The kids were insanely active yesterday. I likened the girls to dogs that can sense danger. Jadon, on the otherhand, kept telling me that he was scared. I reassured him that "the fire is far away and that the strong wind was blowing the smoke all the way over to us" and that was the reason why it smelled. I also reassured him that "nothing is going to happen and that momma and dadda are going to be right here." He broke out into tears though. After we prayed about it, he seemed to be more at ease. Hopefully he wasn't kept from sleeping. As it turned out (as of this morning), we weren't evacuated and so far no homes have been damaged. I'm sure that the in-laws are safely back at home. Although I did here a potential rumor that this fire could have been caused by an arson, which wouldn't have surprised me with the speed that this fire occured at.

Yahoo Photos Moved!

2007-10-20T12:06:00.001-07:00

All of my photos from Yahoo have been moved to Flickr! So that means that the links under Picture Realm have been removed with the exception of my Flickr site.

The Girls' True Calling?

2007-10-19T11:24:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday, Fiona, the kids, and I went to IKEA for dinner. Before I mentioned this next part, take a rewind to almost 2 and a half years ago. On Mother's day there was an instance involving a talent agent who came up to me as mentioned in my blog from that day. Well as we were eating dinner, a talent agent came up to us and gave us her business card. She said our girls were adorable and asked if they were identical and if we were interested in having them shoots and modeling, to give her a call. She also said the same for Jadon. Hmmm this sounds familiar. Now it would have been even more flattering except that it was the same woman from before! I recognized her and her business card. I probably would have taken it as some sort of sign to get our girls into the business but coming from the same person, I don't think I'd pursue it just yet.

My Little Asian Blond.

2007-10-18T10:05:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we were eating at Pat & Oscars for dinner. The girls were sitting in their stroller eating dinner. Vanessa is whining searching for her water. She was looking in the retracted overhead canopy where we always put her water. Fiona was asking her what she wanted and she whined and whined and finally said "Wa-wa." I was looking at her and Fiona pointed out to Vanessa that she was holding it. Vanessa looked at it and then looked at us with a confused but embarrassed look. My response to her was "Der!" After that she gave a giggle. Nothing like my little asian blond.

Redrum!

2007-10-16T17:49:00.001-07:00

No, Jadon isn't trying to imitate the kid from the movie "The Shining." Apparently that is the way he currently rights his name. We were concerned and voiced it to his teacher. She said that she'll keep an eye out on it but that it isn't something to worry about it. Fiona looked it up on line as well and she found information about kids who write their names backwards. Eventually the brain makes a connection with constant exposure of the correctly written form and kids will end up writing their name out correctly. I hope so for Jadon's sake.

No-Cry-Flu Shots.

2007-10-12T07:17:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week, Fiona took the kiddies down to their Pediatrician's office to get their flu vaccinations. I asked her how it went and she told me that not one kiddie cried. I was astonished and I asked her again. They didn't cry one bit. Fiona told me that the nurse was all prepared for the visit. She had the shots all laid out, had stickers and lollipops ready to go. So while Fiona was distracting the kids with all the little goodies, the nurse swooped in, alcoholed their arm and gave them their shot. It happened so fast, apparently, that the kids didn't know what hit them. Nicely done....

Good At Something, At Least.

2007-10-11T07:48:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Jadon's last day in his All-Sorts-Of-Sports class. I can tell he tries hard but he is not quite there as far as athletic ability (at least not yet). Frankly, I'm not concerned at all but Fiona seems to be. I find his abilities quite amusing: the swinging of his bat (totally off and the wrong way), the way he kicks a ball (even if it is a baseball and not a soccer ball), the way he shots a basketball (misses the backboard and all). I don't think I was even remotely athletically inclined until I was probably 9 or 10. But there was something that he seemed to excel at that I do think Fiona found amusing. That was that he seemed to be the first one to reach the water cooler almost every time there was a water break. The sessions are 45 minutes long and the coaches implemented 4 water breaks each session. So Jadon got a lot of practice. Although yesterday he was in the #2 or #3 person in line. But one time I observed him helping out a girl by grabbing a cup for her because she couldn't reach. Nobody prompted him to and no adults were around, he just did it himself. I thought that was sweet and considerate of him.

Jadon's First Dental Appointment.

2007-10-04T09:01:00.000-07:00

This past Monday Fiona finally took Jadon to his first dental appointment. I know, I know, it was long overdue. Fiona took him to an extremely kid friendly dentist. It was so friendly that when Jadon got home, he told me that he wants to go back the to the dentist every day! Fiona told me that Jadon asked the nurse hygienist when he was going to get his teeth brushed. Apparently he was waiting with full anticipation, Fiona thought that it took the nurse a little off guard. I asked Fiona if his dentist takes adults. =)

Fiona went on to ask the DDS about the girls. She asked her if it is recommended to bring them in one at a time or have them both done together. The DDS said something really amusing. She told Fiona that either way is fine but that if the girls go in together, to have the "leader one" go first. Buahahhaha! I found that term hilarious. When I first heard it from Fiona, my first thought was "That would be Vanessa." Fiona thought the same. Vanessa is totally the "leader one." Natalie's decision making skills (most of the time) are based on how Vanessa reacts to certain things or situations. For example, when it comes to trying out new foods, Natalie will look to see what Vanessa's expression to see if she should try it as well. So anyways, I think Fiona is planning to book the girls' long over due dental appointment come December.

24 Up-To-Speed.

2007-10-04T08:56:00.000-07:00

I have finally completed the 6th season of 24. Yeah, yeah, I am an addict. Despite the critics saying that season 6 was the worse one yet, I thought that it was still good. They, the writers, could have swapped around some of the subplots to make it end better. Perhaps it was the lower expectations that I had. Now I just have to wait and twiddle my thumbs until the 7th season airs. At least I've got Heroes.....

Tormenting Or Reverse Psychology?

2007-09-20T06:37:00.001-07:00

Last night Fiona and I decided to have a little bit of fun with our kids. Towards the end of most evenings leading to bedtime, Jadon will ask if it is bath time. All the kids are into routine, so they must have their baths, lotioned up, read some books (girls must have their pacifiers in hand or mouth), sing a song, and pray. Most times we'll just tease the kids and tell them "no bath, just bed" (or vice versa). The kids get into a tizzy and saying that they want "bath and bed!" Well tonight we took our tease on a little longer. We were heading home from dinner and we were saying "ok everybody just bed, no bath." That instantly created an uproar. Of course we were kidding and the kids were laughing and screaming. Jadon kept saying "No!!! I want bath and bed ok?" And I would respond "No just bed no bath, I'm too tired." And the girls would interject as well "Nooooo I want bath!" It's so hilarious to hear them beg. When we got home, the joke kept going. This time Jadon started to weep because he thought we were serious (boy aren't we mean?). Then Natalie saw the seriousness of Jadon's crying and she began to cry (aren't we really mean?). Vanessa, on the other hand, was just laughing her little head off. She knew all along that we were just kidding. We probably shouldn't keep teasing them like that, despite the humorous entertainment factor, but it's nice to know that they love their baths and their routines.

The Running Man.

2007-09-14T09:28:00.000-07:00

I started running again. After doing nothing for 3-4 months or so since my phyiscal therapy ended I needed to get back into it. I weighed myself a few weeks and I didn't like what I saw. I seemed to have gained a significant amount of weight back. I checked out an LA Fitness near my work. Although it was a nice facility, the $149 registration fee deterred me. That and the sales person who was pretty much applying pressure didn't do it for me. It was a negotiating frenzy. He kept dropping the price but it wasn't good enough for me. I got some info on 24 Hour Fitness but there registration fees are too much for me as well. So I just have to muster up that motivation and get myself into exercising. I run after we've put the kids to sleep. So far it hasn't been too bad. It's nice and cool out which enables me to run a little bit more.

USS Midway.

2007-09-04T15:20:00.000-07:00

So last weekend we went down to San Diego for a night and did the scenic thing. We went on some old boats on display as well as a Russian Submarine. We also went on a Hornblower 1-hour boat ride which toured the Navy Ship Yard. The kids just loved it. There are some pictures posted on my Flickr site.

This past weekend we went back to San Diego (just for the day) and finished off what we didn't do the previous weekend. Fiona wanted to go to Richard Walker's Pancake house for brunch. There was a good size line. The food was pretty good. After that we went to the aircraft carrier USS Midway. That was a pretty cool display. We spent 3 1/2 hours there (with the kids!). Of course we went on a pretty hot day but it was a great experience. Jadon just loved it. Although the girls are probably too young to know exactly what it is they are looking, they seemed to enjoy themselves too. We let them walk through the corridors of some of the decks. Did we burn off a lot of calories. Enjoy the pictures of our Midway Trip on Flickr as well.

Some tidbits about the USS Midway:

-Commissioned in 1945 and was known as the largest ship in the world for the decade.
-Cost $90 million to build.
-Overhauled in the late 1960s for $260 million.
-Served in Vietnam War, Invasion of Kuwait, Operation Desert Storm.
-Decommissioned in 1992.
-Went on display in 2004.
-3.4 million gallon capacity.
-100,000 gallons used daily.
-260 gallons for every mile.
-4500 crew (600 men in engineering, 225 cooks, 200 pilots, 2 physicians, 1 dentist).
-10 tons of food daily, 13,500 meals served daily.

Dyson'ed

2007-09-04T14:58:00.000-07:00

We have finally gotten a Dyson (DC07 All Floors). We collected a lot of rewards points through our AMEX card and we redeemed some for a couple of gift cards at Linens N' Things. We used the 20% coupon and then the rest of the gift cards. So we got a new vacuum for free....sort of.

Happy Or Mad?

2007-09-04T14:55:00.001-07:00

The other day Jadon said this Natalie and Vanessa:

Jadon: Natalie is mad!
Natalie (irritated): Nooooo! I happy! I Happy!
Jadon (turing his attention to Vanessa): Vanessa is mad!
Vanessa (upsettingly): No! I happy! I happy! Momma I happy, momma I happy.....
Fiona: Ok! You're happy.

Yahoo Migrating To Flickr!

2007-09-02T12:02:00.000-07:00

I just got an email from Yahoo regarding the photos that I have on their site. They are closing it down in order to concentrate on Flickr. So what does that mean. It means that they are going to move all my photos from Yahoo over to Flickr. Not only that but as long as I maintain my Yahoo DSL services through them then I get Flickr Pro at no charge! Sweet. The change will be occurring over the next month. So stay tuned!

Tired As Usual.

2007-08-30T07:03:00.000-07:00

It seems like every day for the past few months that I am just flat out tired. Of course last night didn't help out at all. It was so dang hot that I was just sweating buckets. We even turned on the a/c at night (during sleep). We have only done that once in the past.

Anyways, this past week I have been up with our mobile unit servicing one of our contracted unions. Fun fun. Those trips always seem to take a good chunk of energy. Even though I only had to go up there two of the five days, it was especially tough this go around. More patients, more doctors, more multitasking (since I ended up having to cover multiple jobs). Hopefully I am done going up there for the remainder of the week.

Yesterday was Jadon's first day of class for pre-k (or is it preschool?). This time he is enrolled in the MWF classes. More days, bigger classroom, more kids (especially more boys) compared to last year. Although he says he likes his class and his teachers, there apparently aren't any classmates from his last year's class. Because of that and the fact that his new teachers are only in their second year of teaching at his school, Fiona composed and email to the principal requesting Jadon to be transferred to another class. The principal responded back telling her that she will look into and let us know by today.

I am at an impasse with season 3 of 24. I was about halfway done when the dvd froze. I tried my laptop several times, my Bose dvd, my dvd recorder, my desktop, my work computer, and my PS2 and it couldn't read the part of the dvd (mainly the last episode). I decided to try and skip that episode and go on to the next one. Apparently when they show previous scenes of the last episode, it looked like that a lot had occurred and I got into about 10 minutes of the next episode before itt froze on me. Dang Chinese import dvds. Fortunately they're not mine and I didn't pay a penny for those. So now I am going to have to bit torrent season 3. Aiyeeeee.

Well that is all for now. Gotta go back to work.

Score: 30-3

2007-08-22T18:11:00.000-07:00

You would think that that is a score to a football game. Nope, it's a score in a Major League Baseball game played a few hours ago. Texas Rangers scored 30 runs off 29 hits against the Baltimore Orioles. That's holy-crap-a-lot. The 30 runs are the most since Chicago scored a 36-7 victory against Louisville (National League) back in ....1897! That's 110 years ago! The 29 hits were the most since 1992 when Milwaukee had 31.
Yikes!

24ed.

2007-08-21T07:09:00.000-07:00

So I finally completed the first two seasons of 24. Yes, I am definitely hooked. I bought the first season almost a year ago. It took me a few months to start it and about 6 months (or so) to complete it. I watched maybe a third of it and stopped for a while and had just recently resumed it. My coworker ended up giving season 2 which I plowed through rather quickly. He had an extra Chinese imported one which was nice of him. Plus he's going to lend me the next couple of seasons. I am always curious as to what other familiar faces that I will see. So they had Lou Diamond Philips and I wonder if Emilio Estevez or Charlie Sheen (Young Guns cast) will appear. Then I see Dennis Hopper who was one of our previous patients years ago. Then I just laughed when I saw Kevin Dillon (it's Johnny Drama!) because I finished the first three seasons of Entourage a few months ago.

I have to say that 24 is probably the most intense show that I have ever seen. I just love watching TV shows on dvd. No commercials, plus I don't have to wait that long after a cliffhanging episode. As you can tell, I am relatively new (past year or so) to the concept of digital video shows. Not sure if I'll get into TIVO though.

Family Portrait?

2007-08-08T13:47:00.000-07:00

This is one of the pictures from an article in Newsweek called "One Nation, Under Gun." I found a photo gallery on the article (unfortunately not the article itself) through MSN. I love the kid's Superman outfit. Lets just hope that he doesn't think that he is invulnerable to bullets.

There is another picture of a family with three girls (two of them holding guns). I wouldn't like to be a date in that family.