Mommy Network

Looking Back!

2009-02-19T14:02:00.001-08:00

Wow...It's been a year since I stopped writing.
There have been so many changes. Ben is 4.5 and Joy is 2 now. Looking at those cute pictures, I cannot believe how much they have grown. This probably means I got more wrinkles on my face, yikes.
Ben goes to preschool 3 days a week. Joy just made a huge accomplishment - party trained. And I survived on a 18 hours plane ride with them to see grandma and grandpa in Hong Kong. It was such a wonderful trip. I was spoiled. No cooking, no cleaning....just enjoy being a daughter (not a mom) again. It was a wonderful experience and feeling.
I got to put some pictures up soon.

Second Day of School

2007-09-14T12:21:00.000-07:00

"He did much better and had fun today" Mrs. Harvey said. I am so proud of Ben.

But it was a tough start this morning. Ben refused to get dress so he wore his pajamas T-shirt to school. He cried in the car. When daddy handed him to the teacher, he cried again. But he settled a few minutes after daddy left. When I picked him up from school, he wasn't crying at all. He was actually standing in a group and listening to a story. Mrs. Connell said he shouted out as soon as she flipped the page to fire engine. I guess Ben started to loosen up and enjoy himself. I am relief to hear that and feel much better.

Kids have different personalities. At the school, Ben's classmates act differently to this new page of life. Jacob is the cheerful one who didn't cry at all even for the first day. He always has a smile on her face. Brian cried almost the entire class today and was asleep on the first day of school from crying. Ella is the independent one who didn't cry and carried her bag out without waiting for mommy.

Off to School

2007-09-12T13:03:00.000-07:00

It was Ben's first day of school. He was very excited in the morning and kept saying let's go. When daddy dropped him off at the school, it was a different story. He cried. But after a short while, he was OK and played at the playground (at the sand box and swing). When mommy picked him up, he cried again. It was so sad. My eyes were red. :-(

Mommy asked: Did you have fun?
Ben answered: Daddy left me and I don't like this school

I guess daddy is the bad guy now.

Ben's Birthday

2007-09-12T12:53:00.000-07:00

Ben had his big 3 birthday party with all his cousins and niece. It was a blast. He got to blow candles (which he loves to do), cut sweet potatoes cake, and got his dream gift - "SWORD". He has been sleeping with it for the past few days.

Orientation

2007-09-08T13:47:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Ben's orientation at Christ Presbyterian Preschool. Jeff and I both took him to the school to get familiar with the teachers (Mrs. Harvey and Mrs. Connell) and the classroom environment. He screamed in the car once we arrived. I was surprised that he was so excited. He seems to be ok in the classroom though some times he needed us to play with him. He loves the bathroom there since there was a little step that he can climb up to wash him hands by himself. When we left, he insisted to play at the playground. Next Wed will be his official first day of school without mommy and daddy. Hopefully both he and I will be OK. He is a big boy now.....

Baby Food

2007-08-16T09:58:00.001-07:00

Baby food face! Yike!!!

Pants

2007-08-16T09:56:00.001-07:00

Check out my toe!!!
I definitely need to get a new pair of pant for Joy. :-)

Daddy's birthday

2007-07-11T12:47:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday DADDY...

Jello Day

2007-06-30T18:09:00.000-07:00

One of Ben's favorite snacks is Jello. Today is his jello day.

Putting strawberry into lime jello

Finished product. Yum.....

Spinkle Spinkle water everywhere

2007-06-30T17:58:00.000-07:00

Ben loves to play in water but he's doesn't like the water get into his eyes. So the solution is to have him put on his toolman hat and he runs around like crazy.

Must have "sleep" jacket

2007-06-27T14:30:00.000-07:00

Joy is a good girl. She is very funny about sleeping. She doesn't need anyone to hold her to sleep. But she needs her MAGIC jacket. When she has her magic jacket, she will fall asleep like that without fuss or anything. She is growing out of this jacket soon. I am not sure what we are gonna do with her sleep habit without this jacket. Yuke! Maybe I need to have my mom custom made one for her..haha

Alimentum

2007-04-15T14:03:00.000-07:00

My girl takes Alimentum. Not only she takes Alimentum, but she only take the Ready to Feed. She won't take powder ($$$$). It is so expensive as you may already know. So we shop at many places and found the price list below:

(based on Fairfax VA location, each location may vary)
Ready to Feed Bottle (1 Qt):
Target - $8.69
Safeway - $8.79
Bloom - $8.49
Wegman - $7.99

Powder (16oz):
Target - $24.69
Bloom - $23.99
Toy R Us - $23.69

Allergic to Breastmilk?

2007-04-15T13:26:00.000-07:00

Can you believe your baby is allergic to your breast milk? I thought this was nonsense. Isn't breast milk is the easiest digest and the safest milk for babies?

After six weeks of breast feeding, I found traces of blood in my girl's stool. The doctor decided that she was allergic to my breast milk due to the milk products that I intake. So I stopped eating, yogurt, cheese, milk, and ice-cream. But about twice a week, her stool still had blood in it. Maybe because of the food that I ate had milk ingredients (ex: cake, cracker..etc). It was very difficult for me to eliminate every little dairy products in the diet. Thus, I put her on formula (Similac Alimentum). My girl won't take powered Alimentum. She only takes ready to feed. It is so expensive. But I haven't seen any blood in her stool after about 2 weeks she had Alimentum. Below website also talks about breast milk allergy that maybe helpful:

http://parenting.ivillage.com/newborn/nbreastfeed/0,,70jn,00.html

http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/bloodystool.html

Eczema

2007-04-13T15:06:00.000-07:00

Eczema...something I feel sorry for my kids. My 2.5 years old boy and 3 months old girl both have eczema. Their skin are irritated and feels like sand paper. When my boy was little, he often scratched his skin to bleed because of the itchiness. Blisters and crusts are common. I was very sad and wish it were me who had Eczema. He is much better now but occasionally he still has spots where irritate him. Now my little girl has the same problem. Here is what I do to help them to ease the itchiness and pain (of course consult your doctor as well):
- Bath every other day
- Apply vaseline as soon after bathing
- Apply over counter 1% corticosteroids to rediness or badly affected area (spot treatment only, apply max. 5 days and let skin rest of 5 days before another application)
- Keep house in high humidity (we installed central humidifier and have individual humidifier at rooms)
You may check below websites for additional resources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eczema
http://www.kidshealth.org/parent/infections/skin/eczema_atopic_dermatitis.html

Why Mommy Network?

2007-04-12T17:09:00.001-07:00

This is my first blog, my first "Mommy Network" blog.

After graduated from college, I spent 11 years in the Corporate finance world. Socially and professional, it was very fulfilling. Work can be frustrated some times with office politics and last minute requests, but it was all part of the working experience and career life style.

Two years ago, I had my first child, Ben. And, three months ago, I had my second child, Joy. This was the time that I decided to change my role from a working professional to a stayed at home mom. Staying at home isn't easy at all. It is a 24/7 job with full attention at all time. You may not have a cup of coffee peacefully. But you may bake cookies with the kids joyfully. Staying at home (especially when the weather is extreme) limited my social world, but with the internet it allows me to reach out to all the super moms out there and communicate to them.