Tales From The Big Tomato

Linjit has Landed in the Philippines

2012-01-09T21:28:00.000-08:00

Linjit has landed in the Philippines to complete her documentary "Gwapa". We are so proud of her Linjit for helping raise awareness of cleft affected children around the world and their barriers to treatment. Send your prayers out to Linjit and the team. If all goes well and their success continues they will find themselves at Sundance Film festival. We sit and wait for status updates on the children undergoing their cleft repairs and pray that all goes well.

The Tooth Fairy is a Fraud Okay!!!

2012-01-09T21:13:00.000-08:00

The Tooth Fairy and competitive kids do not mix...nope not one bit. One 2nd grader yahoo looses a tooth and the other second grader will work and work and work until their tooth comes out. Next thing you know I have HooHaa coming to me with a large molar telling me he would like 20 dollars for it since it is so big. I tell him no - 1 dollar like the others. He askes for ten dollars, I hold firm at one dollar. Next he tries for five dollars and I say no one dollar is my final offer. He then tells me no thank you he would rather keep it for himself and negotiate with the tooth fairy on his own.Guess who will be doing all of my barting next trip to China?

Blues Clues rise Again

2012-01-02T14:39:00.000-08:00

Looks like it's going to be a blue new year. Yesterday I sent in Canoley to take a shower. When she was done, I went into the bathroom to make sure all of the towels were picked up and noticed shades of blue finger prints all around me slightly reminiscent of blues clues.
Blue tub, blue walls, blue cabinet, blue door. I was completely stumped what could be so blue. Then I remembered seeing Canoleys hand...it too was blue. Thinking at the time it was ink from a marker, I had ignored it.

I called and asked Canoley what was blue and why was it everywhere in the bath room. She looked blankly at me and said her usual..."don't know."

I walked back into the bathroom and opened the cabinet to get the cleaning wipes and noticed an unwrapped blue toilet bowel tablet placed nicely on the shelf. I had found the clue to my blue and discovered that Miss Canoley learned the hard way that blue toilet bowel cleaning tabs do NOT make very nice bath fizzies.

Au Revoir 2011 don't let the door hit ya in the butt

2011-12-31T17:45:00.000-08:00

Tonight is a very good night. Yes a very good night indeed. 2011 kicked my butt, and I have lived to tell or not tell as the case may be with the lack of posting to this blog.

In a nutshell 2011 will be the year of:
Thyroid CancerCleft Surgery
Four kids 2 different schools
Commuting for the first time in 11 years
Going back to work for someone else
Juggling two jobs
Paying off taxes - yuck!
Old car issues
Old house issuesStarting the process of moving
Ending the process of moving
Finishing my graduate program at Stanford University- FINALLY after many years!!!

Needless to say, I survived and more importantly, those around me survived.I am looking very forward to 2012. Something about the sound of it. Or maybe it is as simple as I think even numbers. Regardless I'm happy to start the new year and as always the promise of change it brings.

2011-11-22T14:27:00.001-08:00

Cleft Affected Children - A documentary and how you can help

2011-11-22T13:45:00.000-08:00

Gwapa, meaning beautiful in Visayan, is the fitting title of this vibrant, real-life story that follow two Filipino families and their struggle for a healthy future. Every year, 4,000 - 5,000 Filipino children are born with cleft lip, cleft palate, or both. Cleft lip and palate are two the most common and curable of birth defects. Sadly, most clefts go unrepaired in developing countries. Just one surgery can change a child's life forever. Gwapa (Beautiful) is Thirsty Girl Films' first feature length documentary dedicated bringing awareness to the high number of children born with cleft deformities in the Philippines and the great need for free reconstructive surgeries among the Filipino islands. This stunning and remarkable film will draw you into a powerful tale of strength, love, determination, and hope.

http://www.indiegogo.com/Gwapa-Film

Wise Words for Trying Times

2011-10-06T19:00:00.000-07:00

Moshe ben Maimon (1135-1204) was a Jewish rabbi, physician and philosopher. He is most commonly known by his Greek name, Moses Maimonides (or more formally Rabbi Moses ben Maimonides), and subsequently many Jewish works refer to him by the acronym of his title and name, RaMBaM or Rambam.

According to Rambam, there are eight levels of charity, each greater than the next.

[1] The greatest level, above which there is no greater, is to support a fellow Jew by endowing him with a gift or loan, or entering into a partnership with him, or finding employment for him, in order to strengthen his hand until he need no longer be dependent upon others.

[2] A lesser level of charity is to give to the poor without knowing to whom one gives, and without the recipient knowing from whom he received. For this is performing a mitzvah solely for the sake of Heaven. This is like the “anonymous fund” that was in the Holy Temple [in Jerusalem]. There the righteous gave in secret, and the good poor profited in secret. Giving to a charity fund is similar to this mode of charity, though one should not contribute to a charity fund unless one knows that the person appointed over the fund is trustworthy and wise and a proper administrator, like Rabbi Hananya ben Teradyon.

[3] A lesser level of charity is when one knows to whom one gives, but the recipient does not know his benefactor. The greatest sages used to walk about in secret and put coins in the doors of the poor. It is worthy and truly good to do this if those who are responsible for distributing charity are not trustworthy.

[4] A lesser level of charity is when one does not know to whom one gives, but the poor person does know his benefactor. The greatest sages used to tie coins into their robes and throw them behind their backs, and the poor would come up and pick the coins out of their robes so that they would not be ashamed.

[5] A lesser level of charity is when one gives to the poor person directly into his hand, but gives before being asked.

[6] A lesser level of charity is when one gives to the poor person after being asked.

[7] A lesser level of charity is when one gives inadequately, but gives gladly and with a smile.

[8] A lesser level of charity is when one gives unwillingly.

My "Hon"some Boy Turns 8 Today

2011-05-30T12:05:00.000-07:00

Who's got the most Hon-some boy around...I do! He woke up this morning and picked out a clean white button down shirt to wear with his jeans on his birthday. That's my guy. He could have worn the Mario shirt he received for his birthday but NO.... he chose the button down.

Move Over Harry Potter here comes Samba

2011-05-29T18:14:00.001-07:00

Well the title says it all... Move over Harry here I come. Table 10 Samba 0. Not sure how it happened, but I was cleaning up the floor bent over and bang. I hit the very sharp corner of the glass table and managed to perform my own browlift, unfortunatly it went verticle instead of horizontal or I might have seen some signs of improvement. The good news is that I was able to get the emergency room doc to give me my suture set so next time I can take care of this at home.

FuFu's new Do and locks of love

2011-05-29T17:59:00.000-07:00

We have been growing miss fufu's hair for four years. Last year she decided she wanted to cut it short to her "shoulders" I was not so sure this was what she really wanted and so I waited for one year. Well, one year later she still wanted to cut it and donate it to locks of love. She was very excited until the first chop of the pony tail and then the tears flowed like a waterfall. She sobbed and sobbed and sobbed but there was no turning back. When it was done we did some ice cream nail polish therapy and she perked up. Her hair came out adorable and she looks like... well, like a lot older than the little seven year old that went into the salon

Bunny FuFu turns 7 and that darn cat

2011-05-20T11:03:00.000-07:00

So I wanted to post a couple birthday photos of miss bunny fufu, but I had a heck of a time finding them becuase they were buried on my camera by over 900 photos of this darn furry thing in the basket pictured below. Someone has been stealing my camera and taking HUNDREDS of photos of this darn cat! This cat, the one that came with our home when we bought it. This cat, the one who for seven years lived in back of the fountian. This cat, who only came out at night time when we were asleep as not to be seen by us. This cat, who has been known as ghost kitty for seven years. Yes, our little bunny fufu got upstaged by a darn cat who since Cokie died as taken over the lives of all four kids. Needless to say miss fufu is happy to share her lime light with that darncat.

Sacramento Snow?

2011-05-17T18:12:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was a crazy one. One day hot enough to go swimming and next day....snow. Okay, so maybe not snow, but hey here if it is white and falls from the sky it counts as snow in our book. Just ask my snow deprived yahoos...

Avalanche of Class Projects

2011-05-17T18:00:00.000-07:00

So what we have been doing for the past 6 weeks since we last posted. As we approach the end of the school year, we have been bombarded by an avalanche of school projects. Mission projects, bird nest projects, famous Californian projects, Old Oregon Trail projects, but this one takes the cake. The build a home project. Hons class are building homes to display at next weeks open house. I first thought of a Tepee or Igloo but after seeing those as examples on the list of suggested homes, I decided to pass and move on to something a little more interesting aka not on the list of suggestions.

After spending a weekend at Mrs Open Windows home and admiring their newest addition the spark of inspiration was lit. I am quite confident we will have the only Air Stream Motor home in the class. Take a look and see for yourself. Notice the two pink flamingos in the "front yard" afterall what would a trailer be without them? I was going to put a beer in the hand of the man reclining the the lawn chair, but decided it keep it PC for a first grade class.

My Favorite Foods

2011-04-05T14:39:00.000-07:00

A school paragraph written by tobbers who has never written anything ---- EVER. Now, I am not sure if I am shocked by him writing it or by the subject matter and content.

Favorite Foods

To start with, breakfast is my favorite meal and the most important meal of the day. Sometimes for breakfast, I have Southern biscuits and gravy. I also like bananas and strawberry pancakes with whip cream. Other times, I eat scrambled eggs and cheese or a sausage burrito.
Another, at lunch I can’t wait to see if I am going to get my favorite foods. For lunch, I like pizza pillows. I like the little pepperoni chunks and the melted cheese. I also like hot dogs with orange soda, French fries, and BBQ chips. Other times, I like fried chicken sandwiches with a fruit cup and lemonade.
Finally, dinner is the most fulfilling meal. For dinner, I have macaroni and cheese with milk. I also like hamburgers with root beer. Other times, I like chicken pot stickers with soy milk. When I don’t eat my favorite foods, I get bratty!

So I must ask myself...if I ever wondered what Mr T has been feeding these kids when I am not home? I think I just figured it out...

Uuuuuuttttt-O

2011-03-23T19:02:00.000-07:00

I made a big mistake. A really big mistake and I am reaching out for help! I decided to wash the mark on my bathroom ceiling...except that when I when removed the mark, it was replaced by a bigger white spot. So then I tried to blend in the white spot in with my handy dandy miracle eraser and now I have a smudgy mottled grey and white ceiling. Which leaves me with no other option than painting the whole darn thing. Any great ideas out in blog world that can help me NOT repaint my ceiling. And to think, I had not even noticed that my white bathroom ceiling was not white anymore.

Well, off to go spray paint the nasty air vent that is not white anymore either.

Four Years Ago Today...

2011-03-07T18:55:00.000-08:00

We brought our little Bunny FuFu home from Wuzhou China. Time does fly. We are SOOOOOOOOO happy you are our little FuFu.

Who Let The Dogs Out? - Wait We Don't Own a Dog!

2011-03-07T18:47:00.000-08:00

Christmas One Month Later

2011-01-25T11:00:00.000-08:00

Thirty days ago, I was looking forward to a lovely Christmas morning of watching the kids open up their Christmas goods. Each year on Christmas Eve before the Yahoos go to bed, I explain to them the morning ground rules (yes, I am that controlling) I remind them that they are not to wake us up before 6am. When they get up they may open their stockings and play with what ever is laid out UNWRAPPED (yes, each child has one unwrapped present waiting for them to play with while I wake up)
Instead I was rudely woken at 4am from a deep sleep by the wild cackling of crazed hyenas and paper shredding. Imagine my horror when I walked into the living room to find three of the four yahoos sitting amidst a pile of open presents and paper. Yep that's right the little hellions opened up all of their presents without us! Well that is without the big girls, grandma and myself. Mr T was reading the paper and claims to have not noticed what they had done. Therefor there were no photos of unwrapping presents this year because I WAS NOT THERE to take them.

Next year the game will change. I am not sure how I will work it but I am confident there will be no chance of this happening again. Mom was not a happy camper. Some day I am sure I will find this funny. But that day is not today nor thirty days ago.

And the 2011 Pinewood Derby Winner is...

2011-01-25T10:28:00.000-08:00

No one we know... Pinewood Derby. What is it? I did not know but I learned this past weekend the hard way. Let me back up to early last month. I was handed two small boxes with races cars printing on the outside packaging and was told they were for the cub scouts annual pinewood derby. I thought hum...okay we can assemble and paint the wooden cars and enter them in the race. That should be easy. I really did not think much of it, that was until I opened the boxes and to my horror I discovered someone had made a mistake. There was no car in our box just a piece of wood. Clearly someone at the assembly plant did not check this box for quality control. So I opened the next box and shuttered to discover it too was just a piece of wood. So then I reluctantly did was most people do first---read the directions.

THE PINEWOOD DERBY REQUIRES YOU TO CARVE OR CUT OUT YOUR CARD WITH WOOD SHOP TOOLS! What? We are the Tomato's! We have every tool imaginable for making things in the KITCHEN. Not in a wood shop. I knew at this point we were doomed.

So I sat the two pieces of wood on the dinning room table and called for the boys to let them know the situation. I explained that neither their father nor I possessed the tools let alone the skills to hand carve a car out of chunk of wood. So we had better come up with another plan of action. Just then I looked down at the table and saw the answer sitting right next to the block of wood. The Wii remote. Why, it was the same shape, length and width and would requite no carving or cutting. Voila! problem solved. Forget a fast race car...we would go for the interesting category. Tobbers loved the idea and took on the challenge. HooHaa had a whole other idea. I suggested, stick of butter, candy bar, lego brick, and toothpaste box, but nooooooooooooooooo he wanted a Bumble Bee transformer car. (yeah right?)

We strong armed mister T in to taking on HooHaa's car and with some outside help he cut a car using some wood power tools. I must say it looked quite snazzy.

So the cars were painted and assembled and we thought we were good. Ahhhhh that would be NO. We grossly neglected to understand that the Pinewood derby is serious business with much research done by participants with regard to weights, design and such. We also were negligent in researching what other Pinewood derby cars have been tried in the past---which is easily done with a simple Internet search. Basically we had all of the makings of newbies.

So we show up at the derby and entered the boys cars. There were over 200 entries. We were feeling quite proud. Each car got to run six times (one in each lane of the track). The winner is based on accumulative times some or another....did not really end up mattering to us because BOTH CARS NEVER IN THEIR SIX RUNS EVER MADE IT TO THE FINISH LINE OR EVEN NEAR IT! Yep, both cars went down the ramp and proceed to stop at the about the half way point. We were the only cars that lost EVERY race they were in. The good news...we keep out wheels on.

Surprising the boys are ramped up for next year and are already thinking of ideas for their cars.

The Fridge

2011-01-15T18:51:00.000-08:00

Noley: Mom opening our fridge is like playing Jenga
Me: Yes honey it is

Great.... enough said

It's Fun Food Friday...what will you be making?

2011-01-14T15:24:00.000-08:00

About a year ago we decided to cut back on our restaurant dining out. This decision was twofold. One to save money and second, was that I found the yahoo's were not appreciating the meals as they should. Eating out in our family had become routine, expected and mundane. It seemed as though we were all just taking "another meal out" for granted. We used to eat out three to four five meals a week out. When I look back it all seems to crazy no wonder they took it for granted. When we made the switch last year it did not take too long for them to notice that we were not eating out. Why I believe it took about....one week. They were not too happy about the change. I explained to them why we were making changes and that instead of going out so much we would replace our weekly Friday family night out with "FUN FOOD FRIDAY"

What is Fun Food Friday you may ask? Well it started on a late Friday night when after a couple glasses of wine, I realized I needed to feed the yahoos and I had been so busy that day I had nothing to prepare. So I went to the freezer and found some odds and ends of appetizers left over from the holidays and decided to feed them to the kids as dinner. I popped them in the oven and placed them on a platter and called the kids to dinner. They looked at my like I was nuts and asked what I was serving them. I explained that it was the official kick off of Fun Food Friday and that from here on out every Friday dinner would consist of "Fun Food" to eat. And that night we were serving, small little quiches, crab cakes, buffalo wings, tater tots and petite fours. Needless to say, it was a home run.

These days the kids start asking about Monday what is going to be served on Fun Food Friday. They invite their friends and neighbor kids. We started something that has snowballed into one of the kids most anticipated events of the week.

Tonight Mr T is taking the rein of Fun Food Friday and he and Ms Canoley are making "grilled Elvis's" California style. What is a Grilled Elvis? Uh that would be peanut butter, honey, banana and bacon sandwiches. The kids can hardly wait. I on the other hand am a little bit aprehensive.

Tonight's Dinner Menu: Grilled Elvis's, Ice Cream Cake and Big Green Salad for mom.

What are you making for Fun Food Friday?

Make Your Dreams Come True Day

2011-01-12T14:36:00.000-08:00

Well it looks like they have a day for everything. Today is national make your dreams come true day. Now that sounds like a perfect day to me.
So what it is going to be? What are you going to do to move in the direction of achieving your dreams. Today is the day. So what kind of dreamer are you? A Somewhere over the Rainbow person or a If I had a Million Dollars person?

p.s. So it appears that I am a somewhere over the rainbow person. As I posted this post to blogger, the music that I have playing on my site started playing and guess what song played...yep you guessed it somewhere over the rainbow. It could have chose any of the 40 plus songs but no...it chose that one. Made me smile at how life works...

Oh my there really is a Tooth Fairy!

2011-01-10T11:39:00.000-08:00

Little bunny FuFu has been wanting to lose a tooth for over two years. Well she lost her first tooth and was so excited she could barely contain her joy. To make her tooth tooth fairy worthy, she (unbeknown to me) went in the bathroom to wash her tooth with soap only to come out in tears that she had washed her tooth down the drain.
I assured her that if she wrote a note to the tooth fairy she would understand what happened. So here is what she wrote " dear tooth fairy...i like you...you are pretty... i was washing my tooth and it is lost in the sink. Can you get it out for me? I want it back. I want you to give me ten dollars and 100 pennies. i love you you are pretty.. please give me money. love fu."
She places the letter under her pillow and all I can think of is great? How the heck am I going to come up with the darn lost tooth?
The next morning I am barefoot in the bathroom and step on something sharp. I look down and what do you know...I was stepping on the tooth! The toothfairy went down the drain and brought the tooth back out. I was so excited for FuFu.
So the tooth fairy was able to give FuFu her tooth back and the 100 pennies. What about the requested 10 bucks you ask? Hey, this economy is hitting everyone...even the toothfairy.

Red White and Huh?

2011-01-06T23:00:00.001-08:00

"Mom we have to wear red, white and blue to school tomorrow." "Huh?" I said
Yep read white and blue and a lot of it..."okay" I say, thinking to myself...but it's Christmas?...what about read white and green?. "Well, you are in luck, I just moved the fourth of July box out of the way to access the Christmas box. Have at it." I tell them. And here is what they went to school looking like.... And whatta ya know...they won first and second place out of five hundred and someodd kids. Nothing like not having enough room in the attic to store the 4th of July box!

Hallelujah --- one to warm your heart which is hard to do in Alaska

2011-01-04T18:11:00.000-08:00

Faith is the greatest of all "Property"... for Edie...

2011-01-04T09:28:00.000-08:00

The funny thing about blog world, is that one can become very aquainted and attached to people one has never even met. Two years ago, I was introduced (or more like stumbled) across a woman whose blog spoke freely of passion. Her passion rang a tone of familiarity to me like a kindered spirit. And sometimes in ways that were challenging to my day to day rountine life - like the freindly slap of reality by a dear friend. I found her weekly doses of passion were infectous---be it books, family, food, creativity, home, life, sprituality---she touched them all. She is one who is truthful, honest with herself and others and is brave enough to share it with all who will listen. All qualities to admire and respect.

Two weeks ago, my dear blogland friend's life changed when she and her family lost their home and all of their worldly posessions in an early morning fire. I feel great sadness for her loss and as I would with any friend wish I could reach out and help take some of the pain away. So instead, I am sending out some words of support and love to a family I know but have never met. Edie, here are three quotes that I wish to share with you and your family during this time of transisition.

"Neither fire nor wind, birth nor death can erase our good deeds"

"Words have the power to both destroy and heal. When words are both true and kind, they can change our world."

"On a long journey of human life, faith is the best of companions; it is the best refreshment on the journey; and it is the greatest property."

Keep the faith Edie as you always do. Happy birthday. May 2011 behold much grace for you and your family.

Here is her blog. www.lifeingraceblog.com

Hugs from the west coast Edie.

Happy 2011

2011-01-01T20:53:00.000-08:00

What a great laid back inspirational seeking day. What exactly does that mean? Well, for me that means I spent most of the day hopping around in blogland and the other half in shopping. What did I buy? Uhhh a bird feeder and cat food and no the bird feeder is not the cat food.

The Final Hour...

2010-12-31T22:51:00.001-08:00

Well we have entered the final hour of 2010 here on the pacific coast. 2010 has been a year of much change for all of us Tomatos. The past two weeks have been nice and quite---one might ask how having two children undergo big surgeries could be considered quite---but in my life it is. We have been blessed to have two very postive outcomes. I am excited about what lies ahead in 2011. But then I have always been one that loves the promise of something new and unexpected. I guess that is what I love about ringing in the new year. The excitment of what lies ahead. What road will we travel? What decision will we make? I have already given the yahoos the heads up that I have some new ideas up my sleve, First up...their daily, and weekly chore/to do lists. Tomorrow it starts...

Little Toy Trains Live...

2010-12-17T16:38:00.000-08:00

Today FuFu and HooHaa had their Winter Concert at school. It was everything one I could think of in a winter concert. It was jam packed with parents and grandparents and was standing room only. There must have been over 1500 people in attendance-easy. I guess they start filling up the gym two hours before the performance. All of the kids wore their holiday best. Here is the snippet of the kids signing my favorite song. Once again, it made me cry. I only wish that Noley and Tobbers could have the same opportunity. Their Winter concert was Wednesday night with about 40 people in the room. How two school so close in proximity can be sooooooo different still does not cease to amaze me. I want all of my yahoos to share the same good experience. I will post footage of the outstanding band performance shortly.

"Uh we are kids"

2010-12-16T08:45:00.000-08:00

Noley: (said while brushing teeth) "hey Tobbers what are you using?"
TObbers: "mom bought new toothpaste"
Noley: "why does she always buy kids toothpaste?"
TObbers: " Uh that would be becuase we ARE kids"

The funny thing is ... it IS regular toothpaste just in a small tube :-) It gave me a chuckle this morning to hear them.

Little Toy Trains...

2010-12-08T14:22:00.000-08:00

So little bunny FuFu comes home today from school and asked me "mom, do you know this song?" Uhh "I don't know...can you sing it for me FuFu?" "it's about trains mom" "Oh trains?" I said. Yes... So she starts out and by the sixth word she had me in tears singing along with her. I had not heard the song in over 40 years. It was always one of my favorite Christmas songs that somehow I had forgotten and here was my little bunny FuFu singing it me....

Here it is sung as I remember it...

Little Baby Bunny FuFu

2010-11-12T15:47:00.001-08:00

Look what arrived in my email today. A baby photo of little bunny FuFu. This is the youngest photo we have of her and it is precious. This is the finding ad that her orphanage ran in the local paper saying that she was found. It is what they call a "finding ad" All infants that are placed on the "adoption tract" have to run ads in the local paper before the orphanage can start the process to get their files ready for adoption. The ads state the time date and place where the infants were found. I am seen many different finding ads for children in China. Some times there are many more than this number listed. It is sad, but when you look at it that these are the children who soon be one their way to finding forever families, it gives me hope.
Can you spot our little bunny FuFu?

Thank You

2010-11-11T10:41:00.000-08:00

Happy Halloween From the Tomato's...

2010-10-31T18:37:00.000-07:00

Pickles and What?

2010-10-27T11:30:00.000-07:00

Well as many can surmise, in the house of tomatoes, there is always something a little unusual lurking around the next corner. Here is what little bunny FuFu made herself for breakfast this morning..(she actually declared it last night while being tucked into bed). Pickles, Pretzels and Salami...Hummm sodium, sodium and a little more sodium on the side. Now that is a breakfast. Who needs sugar cereal when you can have SALT.

Yesterday Candles Today Roses...

2010-10-27T11:27:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Ms Canoley wanted to eat dinner by candle light...this morning I wake up to find her eating breakfast with a single rose.

Say What?

2010-10-26T15:57:00.001-07:00

Yep that is right... somehow I won Kumon parent of the year. I had no idea. Not sure if it is becuase I correct the most Kumon pages or have the most kids enrolled. But nonetheless I got a shirt and some recognition from my yahoos.

a year ago...

2010-10-22T14:25:00.001-07:00

A year ago we were in China packing up and getting ready to head home with a very big souvenir---HooHaa. We had fully planned on this first year being a tough transitional year. After all everything you read tells you that adopting an older child is HARD and trying. Well, thank God this little guy never read any of those books because these past 12 months have been a joy.

This guy has weathered a lot in the past year and has made some incredible strides. He has gone from knowing nothing in English and having had no schooling whatsoever to being top of his class. His first grade teacher was shocked to learn that he had only been here in the US for a year. She had no idea that 12 months ago he had no language and now is one of her best students. He is a kind boy that is well liked by many. He is always willing to help out and has quite a quick wit and humor. He has a passion for singing, dancing and basketball. He has an amazing ability to concentrate and focus and considers himself to be quite the snappy dresser.

My heart aches for all of the children over the age of 4 that sit in orphanages waiting and waiting for a family that may never come. Statistically these children will not find a home. That breaks my heart. I wish the "professionals" out there that write the books on adoption would write one that talks about all of the older adoptions out there that are not fraught with angst and trauma.

HooHaa we are happy to have you as our son. You make us very proud.

Boys Will Be Boys...Scouts that is...

2010-10-19T09:59:00.000-07:00

Here is a great photo of three Rowe scouts getting ready to go work the annual pancake breakfast

Help Wanted: Inspiration Please

2010-09-21T15:22:00.000-07:00

I need some inspiration. Something visual to stimulate my senses or maybe more like bring me to my senses. I am acutely influenced by the visual things around me. I realize I am quite simple minded person, if it looks icky --- I feel icky. Right now in my house everywhere I look is visual chaos-loud visual static-that in your face not pretty stuff and it is draining me. I get this way from time to time. Those that know me well, know that this feeling is typically a warning sign for impending paint brushes and furniture moving. But...I have painted and painted to the point where I am going to loose square footage in my home if I continue and there is no new way to move the furniture as I have tried them all. I am feeling stuck with the need to change but no immediate path or resources to execute it. I am in need of a new source of inspiration for my surroundings. I keep trying to play this game with my self where I am not me and what would I tell me to do if I asked for ideas...and of course the answer is to start with removing half of the belongings in the home...Any suggestions?

We're not in Kansas anymore...

2010-09-17T20:14:00.000-07:00

So today while driving home from school, Ms Canoley asked me a question about our neighbor as we drove by his house. She said "Mom, I have a question... how can that guy (our new 30 something neighbor) have gray hair and be so buffed at the same time" WHAT???? I said... Canoley "yeah, how come that guy on the corner has gray hair and be buffed?...it makes no sense?.... I mean he HAS GRAY HAIR"
Me: Uh Noley, how come a nine year old girl is noticing a buff neighbor? She replied, because his shirt is always off.... uh yeah Noley that IS my point!
Oh my... what AM I in for?

Why Zhu Zhu Pets are EVIL forces of the Devil...

2010-09-16T10:04:00.000-07:00

So this morning, while I was sorting laundry I shoved a load clothes into the washer and was suddenly startled by the strange muffled sound of a rodent. Given that the laundry room IS the room that once housed a very large family of RATS (prior to our occupancy), I am accutely sensitve to the sound of unwanted houseguests. I stopped and listened and heard nothing else so I figured it was coming from the Ivy (another evil from the devil) outside the window (which also houses many a large RODENT).

I walked back down the hall to get another load of clothes from a childs room only this time to have the sound come directly from the clothes in my hands... I drop the clothes on the floor and BAM! they start moving... Well I screamed so loud, I think I woke up every person on the street. I ran into the dining room only to be followed by the rodent...a ZHU ZHU pet RODENT. The thing was chasing me...all the while sqeaking and talking. I pick up the RODENT and through him outside into the back yard (yikes, and I wonder where my yahoos get that?)

I take the load of clothes and finish loading the washer only to hear once again the muffled sounds of a RODENT...I look down and there again is a ZHU ZHU pet sqeeling from the bottom of the laundry basket. I was very very temped to toss him in the washer. If I knew for sure he would not leak on my white load of clothes he would spining around and around at this very moment.

I am NOT a fan of ZhuZhu pets. I believe they are evil forces of the devil that are packaged as cute little hamsters that when left to their own devices set out to drive parents crazy when the kids are at school.

Salvete!, New School and a Budda

2010-09-13T10:10:00.000-07:00

We are officially into the new school year. So what does that mean in the house of Tomatoes? Well for those of you that know us it always means something new. Heck, why do the same ole thing more than once right?

Salvete! - The past couple of school years we have spent covering the history of the world at home. Since we spend so much time in the car, I love that we can use the car time to learn something--and the history has been great. This year we are going to add something new to our car learning time---Latin. I bought on Ebay the Prima Latina program and will spend the next nine months slowing working through the DVD/Book. I was surprised how both Nols and Tobbers liked the first lesson. I think they got a charge out of knowing half of the words already. MeiMei however is less impressed, as she still fancies herself a French girl.

New School - Noley and Tobers are still at School of the Hood. HooHaa and MeiMei are at the new school. We are very happy with change and am hopeful that Tobbers can make the move over something this year. Two schools, two start times and four different curriculum's---ah doesn't that sound like fun?

a Buddha - Yesterday we signed up the kids for Sunday School. I decided we needed a little more divine intervention with the four kids and after a lot of research we settled in on sending them to a program that will teach them to be honest, kind and to be a good citizen. When the kids went to WholySpit, they were exposed and reminded of the presence of God and about being a better person daily. Since that departure, we have been working on these things at home but for some reason we have been some hick-ups in this area. I had looked into the Church where the Yahoos went to vacation bible school "Ocean Camp" this past summer since the kids loved the program, but when I learned that it involved mostly bible drills, I knew that was not quite what I was looking for....learning about the bible was fine with me, but I did not want that to be the only focus. So I decided to step back and look at the big picture and decided on sending the entire family to Dharma School. I can hear the questions already... Oh my ***** they are converting their children into Buddhists!!! No, we are simply learning about the teachings of Budda. Just becuase one goes to a Dharma school does not mean they are a signed sealed and delivered Buddist. And yes, one can still believe in God and Buddha. The first classes start next Sunday and will conclude in May. I am hopeful that a weekly reminder of selflessness and peace will benefit them in the long run.

Five Days Left...

2010-09-02T08:06:00.000-07:00

Well we are rounding up the end of summer. We are down to five days left before we launch into the new school year. At the beginning of summer we (the kids and I) of things we wanted to do , visit or accomplish this summer and I have to say that we have successfully accomplished about 75% of the list. Noley mentioned the other night that she was very happy to have made the list and to see many of the items checked off (Oh she is my girl) but that she was disappointed that there was one item that was on the list she really wanted to do....go to a drive in movie. We have never taken the kids to a drive in. So I think in honor of this being the the last weekend before school starts, we will take the Yahoos to a drive in tomorrow night. We pack a picnic dinner and load them up just like when I was a kid. Please please please let there be something tolerable at the drive in.

They're In!!!

2010-08-26T20:15:00.000-07:00

I got the call today while scouring T-Town for cheap fabric for the girls sewing projects. I could hardly contain my joy. Set B has been accepted to the new school! 2 in and 2 to go.
It looks like this year will start out similar to last years schedule with two separate drop off and pick up times. The set B will start at 8am and set A will start at 9pm. Thank God the school are only about 3 miles of traffic free streets apart.
I'm so excited for MeiMei and HooHaa. I only wish Canoley and Tobbers could have the same experience. Oh well, with time they too will move over. They are a little sad about being left behind, but they understand that it is a numbers game and eventually they will move over as well. Canoley understands that she will be the last yahoo to move over. And like a typical tomato kid, there were first to point out that this means double of everything---two fall festivals---two holiday parties---two of every school event.
The new school goes through to 8th grade. So it looks like we can plan on being there for a while. I cannot wait to say goodbye to the old "hood" school. But I will contain my joy and keep my negative thoughts to myself. Just because I do not like it there, I know there are those that drink the Koolaid and think it is just swell. For those that want a refresher of my first opinion of our soon to be departed "hood" school can read blog post from 2008 - Spetember 3rd. ( I tried to post the link but either I am too stupid to figure it out or my computer is not coorperating...I like to hink it is the latter.
Please let me put this chapter of my kids life behind us...or at least half of it.

13 days and counting...

2010-08-25T20:38:00.000-07:00

Yep, only thirteen days left till school starts back up. We have covered a lot of territory this summer both geographically and academically. All four yahoos are ripe and ready to jump into their next school year.
Still no word the new school front. I feel like a stalker with the principle. As it stands right now, my gut tells me we will get one yahoo in and then another in later in the year. I'm saying prayers that we get Tobbers switched and to my surprise Noley has requested to move as well. Gee all four kids are happy to leave the hood school---what does that say about the past two years? So the big question is when will we get the call and what Yahoo will go first. Guess is in kinda like the Tomato Family's Sophies choice.
Until then, I am trying hard to be optimistic about starting school and not be so negative. Every time I get an email from old Hood school, I get acid stomach --- not a good sign. I want so bad to be GONE...Ring phone ring...

Mom..I think I am Molting...

2010-08-24T22:28:00.000-07:00

MeiMei: Mom I think I have a problem
Me: Huh? What problem?
MeiMei: I think it is time for the weather to change
Me: Huh? I thought you said you had a problem
MeiMei: I do have a problem
Me: okay so that is the problem
MeiMei: I am Molting...
Me: You are WHAT?
MeiMei: Molting...Mom...I am Molting
Me: Molting?
MeiMei: yes, Molting just like the seals we saw on the beach last week when the weather changes
Me: Oh I see...may I see?
MeiMei: yes, I am Molting all over my feet and so is HooHaa.
Me: (examining said feet) Yep Honey, you are in fact Molting. Don't worry just like the seals you have new skin underneath the skin you are shedding.

2010-08-23T22:59:00.001-07:00

Thank You Cokie for 12 great years...

2010-07-19T15:28:00.000-07:00

This afternoon Kitty Hospice came and put Cokie to sleep in my arms while we were sitting in the back yard. It seemed like the most kind way to go. Her cancer had gotten pretty bad and was clearly making her nuts to not be able to scratch and dig at it. We adopted Cokie from the pound 12 and a half years ago to kill the palm rats that liked to visit our old home. It did not take long to understand why Cokie had been tossed into a mail box---she NEVER stoped talking. 27/7 this cat talked. It got so bad she had to spend many a night sleeping outside. Cokie was the kind of cat that did not understand she was a cat. If she could have found a away she would have crawled up inside of me and lived. She was a good protective Mamma kitty. She took stray Ivy in at two weeks old and treated her like her own. She taught Ivy how to climb trees and catch mice. When I was one bed rest with the twins, cokie would sit and amuse me by training ivy with real mice that she would bring into the house and let free so that Ivy could learn to catch them---well I'm sure you can figure out who was trying to catch them---ME full on preganant with twins and NOT being able to bend over let alone move. I would often trap the renagad mice and leave them until Linjit or Mr T would come home. Cokie was a good kitty and the longest Kitty I have owned. I will miss her loud sratchy meow as she greeted me each time I saw her. We laid her to rest under the shade of the lemon tree. I wrapped her in the very baby blankets she loved to sleep on so many years ago. I am sad. I never thought she would be the first kitty to go...with five cats, two of which came with the house...I thought Liz's cats (the two that are older and I am not attached to) would go first...

I have a great photo of her that will always remind me of her outgoing personality--a photo of her sitting on the shelf in the exact same pose as the cat cookie jar she was sitting next to. I wish I could find the photo to post. But inside I will post two that I have at hand. One shortly after we got her from the pound being held by KC and one of her sleeping inside the fruit bowl that she LOVED to do while I was working...

Not a Good Summer for Kitties...

2010-07-15T15:19:00.000-07:00

Two months ago we had a very sick Ivy kitty. This month it is Cokie. I thought she was attacked on the ear by whatever had attacked Ivy. I treated the ear and her with antibiotics with no signs of improvement. In fact things just seemed to be getting worse. She would not leave it alone. We took her in and the vet said cancer. We were able to get a second opinion on the spot and that vet also said cancer. So we brought her home and have given her the royal treatment for the past three weeks. I have been in denial but have had to face the truth. I kind thing to do is put her to sleep. She is not her usual chatty obnoxious in your face non-stop self. She is quite and reserved and that IS NOT our Cokie. I can see that she is not feeling well. It breaks my heart. I have had 17 cats in my life and have NEVER had to put on down. They have always just mysteriously disappeared.
I found a vet that will come to the house and put her to rest while we hold her in our lap. I liken it to Kitty hospice. This Monday will be a sad day in the Tomato house. Noley and Tobbers are quite sad but understand why we need to do it. They can see how bad she looks and how lethargic she is. FuFu and HooHaa are too young to understand.
I have never had a cat live as long as her. I rescued her from the SPCA along with her kitten Mimi. I learned right away why she was dumped in a mail box with her kittens---she NEVER stopped talking---24/7 this cat would follow you around talking. She has been a very good kitty and had tolerated alot from 4 kids.

Ear She Goes....

2010-07-10T20:05:00.000-07:00

Today marks a memorable day for Miss Canoley. This morning she passed her Kumon test with flying colors and moved on to the next level and to celebrate her success she opted to get her EARS PIERCED. I myself had to wait till I was 13 and it KILLED me. I never approached the subject but a couple years ago her friend Avers got hers done and every since Ms Canoley has been thinking about it. About two months ago she asked us to go ahead and do it and we suggested waiting till her 10th birthday...she offered up moving up to the next level in Kumon (which places her one year above grade level at school) and I said Okay. So off we went to the mall. Me, Noley and stuffed kitty for holding on to. I know she is growing up and getting bigger but it was reassuring to me that she is still a little girl as she happily walked through the mall with stuffed kitty in hand.

Dudes in Sweatsuits Dance with Ducks

2010-07-07T10:57:00.000-07:00

Okay so I have NO idea who the heck these dudes are, but this video is funny and the ducks and geese in the backround about split me in two.

We be Jamm'n

2010-07-07T10:26:00.000-07:00

So when I look back at my childhood summers spent with my Nonnie, I think of three things.... sewing using my grandmas scraps of fabric, playing in the chicken coop with my cousin Kathy and picking berries along the river to make jam and pies. So in the spirit of Summer, I decided to take on one of my childhood memories--making jam. Since what I remember was quite labor intensive, I chose the easy route. Strawberry Refrigerator Jam - no cooking involved.
I had marked the calendar with "Jam Day" not telling them what it meant. I let them guess--not one had an inkling that it was actually "jam". One thought we were fixing something that was jammed and another thought it referred to pajama day and Tobbers thought it has something to do with dancing to Bob Marleys "jammin" song.
All of the yahoos participated and chopped away four pounds of strawberries. We ended up with twelve jars of strawberry Jam (that was more like preserves) perfect for pancakes, making strawberry ice cream and eating it right from the jar.

65 days left...

2010-07-05T12:56:00.000-07:00

We have entered our third week of Summer with a bang of a 4th of July Party on the Block. We had fireworks out the wazoo and only managed to catch one five year old on fire ummm that is her dress. Thankfully, her parents were invloved and close by and managed to removed the smock a la flambe without a trace of burns involved.

This week the girls are off to Chinese Culture Camp or at least I think they are. I received what I belive is confirmation of their attendance but it is all in chinese so who knows. They might be playing in a ping png tournment for all I can tell. They boys will be haning with me as I try and figure out good places to go that are of no interest to girls.

81 Days of Summer Break

2010-06-30T20:17:00.000-07:00

Okay so I must say that when I actually calculated the exact number of days of summer I felt a little overwhelmed with what seemed like a never ending void of time...with fighting and screaming as background noise. So then I stepped back and decided to look at it as 11 weeks of summer and all of a sudden it did not seem so daunting.

Today marks day 69. Not so bad as we mark our mid way point of week two. SO far so good. Of course, I can say this easily because I spend the first week of summer in bed with 104 fever hallucinating for days with absolutely no memory of the first six days of summer. Around day seven, I started coming around feeling like I has been hit by a truck and a whole lot lighter than when I started the summer. I think the kids decided they like sick mom the best. Sick mom does not care if the TV is on toon tv all day. Sick mom does not care if kids play DS, while playing the wwii. Sick mom does not care if you have cereal for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Sick mom does not care much about anything because sick mom is comatose and oblivious to everything.

So I sat down with the kids and made a summer wish list of things we would like to do this summer. So far we have made strawberry jam, home made ice cream, and joined the rec center for the water slides.

We have two big trips planned for the summer. End of July we are heading to the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas to see the Titanic exhibit. Along the way we will be stopping to see the airplane cemetery in Mojave desert and hoover dam. In August we will be traveling down the coast to the Central Coast for a week at the beach. We won the trip at the HS auction last Feb and will be taking advantage of the prize. But no trip would be complete without tying it to something of historical or educational significance (since we will have a captive audience in the car) we will be starting in San Francisco and hitting the California Missions, that are dotted down the coast. I figure with the yahoos going into fourth grade this will come in handy for them and allow them to see missions close up and personal...and maybe decide which one they would like to report on.

I have booked us a pretty jammed packed summer down to the day. That includes a daily list of activites for the kids an my work sandwiched in. Tomorrow 7:50am sign up for swimming lessons at the rec center.

Starfish...

2010-06-15T13:20:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time there was a wise man
who used to go to the ocean
to do his writing.
He had a habit of walking
on the beach
before he began his work.

One day he was walking along
the shore.
As he looked down the beach,
he saw a human
figure moving like a dancer.
He smiled to himself to think
of someone who would
dance to the day.
So he began to walk faster
to catch up.

As he got closer, he saw
that it was a young man
and the young man wasn't dancing,
but instead he was reaching
down to the shore,
picking up something
and very gently throwing it
into the ocean.

As he got closer he called out,
"Good morning! What are you doing?"
The young man paused,
looked up and replied,
"Throwing starfish in the ocean."
"I guess I should have asked,
why are you throwing starfish in the ocean?"
"The sun is up and the tide is going out.
And if I don't throw them in they'll die."
"But, young man, don't you realize that
there are miles and miles of beach
and starfish all along it.
You can't possibly make a difference!"

The young man listened politely.
Then bent down, picked up another starfish
and threw it into the sea,
past the breaking waves and said-
"It made a difference for that one."

Years ago, like about 25 of them, I bought a pair of starfish earrings. They were large, gold and very gaudy a la palm beach. I loved them back in the 80's and 25 years later I still do. Guess I've always been a little sentimental about Starfish.

Monday Lunch Special...

2010-06-14T13:11:00.000-07:00

So last night while dining a la fresco out by the pool, a strange stick under my chair caught my attention. I bent down to pick it up only to discover that it was NOT a stick but a lizard tail. Yes, a freshly detached lizard tail at that. I called the kids over to look at the lizard tail and asked who wanted to take it to school? I had only one taker--MeiMei. So off she went with lizard tail in baggy. this morning while making lunches for the kids to take to school I discover where MeiMei put the lizard tail---Inside Noleys lunch box. Gotta Admit that was a good one. Moral of the Story...don't mess with the little one.

Words of Wisdom from a nine year old....

2010-06-06T18:34:00.000-07:00

Yesterday the world lost a very inspirational person John Wooden. While not a sports person, I have always loved Mr Wooden's insight on people and the their place in the world. Listed below are a handful of his more well known quotes.

"You can't live a perfect day until you do something for someone who will never be able to repay you."

"Success comes from knowing that you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming."

"Winning takes talent, to repeat takes character. "

"Talent is God given. Be humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be careful."

"It's not so important who starts the game but who finishes it. "

"You can't let praise or criticism get to you. It's a weakness to get caught up in either one."

"A coach is someone who can give correction without causing resentment."

"The team that makes the most mistakes usually wins, because doers make mistakes "

"If you don't have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?"

"Failure is not fatal, but failure to change might be"

"Don't let what you can't do stop you from what you can do."

"Never mistake activity for achievement. "

"Success is never final, failure is never fatal. It's courage that counts. "

"What you are as a person is far more important that what you are as a basketball player. "

"There are many things that are essential to arriving at true peace of mind, and one of the most important is faith, which cannot be acquired without prayer. "

"The worst thing about new books is that they keep us from reading the old ones. "

"The main ingredient of stardom is the rest of the team. "

"It's the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen.

So yesterday I complimented Tobbers for helping HooHaa and he said "teamwork always leads to success" and "friendship is the key to succeed". Maybe deep inside there is a little John Wooden in all of us.

Happy Birthday # 7 "Hong Solo"

2010-06-01T20:50:00.000-07:00

The countdown started on March 30 (MeiMei's birthday) and after much, much, much anticipation May 30th FINALLY CAME. HooHaa turned a whopping seven. In honor of his first ever birthday party we let him choose what to serve and pick out a cake. He stated that when he lived in China, he never had a birthday, birthday party or a birthday cake. He said he ate cake but not for birthdays and that no one celebrated birthdays in China. I had heard such but it appears that at Changzhou SWI they have special cakes...just not parties for specific birthdays or recognize birthdays. Guess it would be too hard to celebrate everyones birthday and how does one make it fair for all?...guess by not having any.

So with my anticpation HooHaa requested the big StarWars cake, hotdogs, cheetos and rootbeer floats. So you ask yourself...how long does it take a seven year old boy who was adopted from China seven months ago to aclimate to living in the US and requesting junk food for a special day?....uh you guessed it....about seven months...

Moody Blues Flash Back

2010-05-26T09:57:00.000-07:00

Noley: "mom I am so excited that we got a great deal on this flute"
Me: "yep thank goodness for craigslist"
Noley: "yeah the used flutes at Kline were over 500 dollars!"
Me: "yep"
Noley "I am so happy that we were able to find a deal on the flute, becuase if we didn't....well, I mean if we did not find this 55 dollar flute, the only other instrument I can think of that would have been cheaper to play in the band would be the cow bell"
Me: (flash back in my head of saturday night live skit on Moody Blues song don't fear the reaper and Noley on the cow bell) * one of my all time favorite skits
(to hear the video, scroll to the bottom of the blog and turn off the music and then hit play on the youtube video)

Do you know what makes a maglev work?

2010-05-25T14:34:00.000-07:00

Uh, well if you don't you are in good company...but last week, Tobbers decided to take this question head on for the third grade science competition and WON FIRST PLACE. Yes our guy won with his dissertation on magnetic levitation and electro magnetic charges along with is real life exhibit (hot glue gunned by mom till 1am the night before the show). He came up with his topic and supporting ideas all by himself. He did his presentation before the third graders and then all night long to anyone that would listen at the school open house. If nothing else in life, he will make a great docent. His teacher said that after winning Tobbers was the first in his 35 years of teaching that insisted on having a "standing ovation by the crowd" and to "please make sure you get it on film".
That's my boy!

Wow has it really been a month since I posted anything?

2010-05-25T14:20:00.000-07:00

I received this in the mail from my good friend. Today it seems fitting to remind myself...

Saint Theresa's Prayer

May today there be peace within.

May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be.

May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.

May you use those gifts that you have received,
and pass on the love that has been given to you.

May you be confident knowing you are a child of God.
Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your
soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love.

It is there for each and every one of us.

Introducing FrankenKitty... formally known as Ivy

2010-04-28T14:11:00.000-07:00

Ivy as a showgirl - compliments of Noley

Ivy with her hat

Frankenkitty

Ten years ago this coming August, Linjit brought home the cutest little ball of puff. She was soooo small and so young that she fit in the palm of my hand. She was too small to eat on her own and required around the clock bottle feeding and uh potty stimulation (yes it was that intimate). The good news for little puff ball that I was on bed rest rest with the Yahoos and had all the time in the world to be her surrogate Momma Kitty. Well over the past ten years IVY has become a fixture in our house and thinks of herself as one of us. While she may look like a cat, in her mind she is just another one of the kids.
Two weeks ago she got very sick. I took her to the Vet and discovered that underneath all of that fur she had a nasty bite of some type. We drained her and thought we were done. Two days ago while picking her up to give her antibiotics, I discovered she has literally split at the seems. Her skin started to rot when the infection had pooled in her stomach and hind area. She looked like she escaped from the traveling "our bodies exposed" exhibit. She did not appear to be bothered by the fact that she had two massive areas on her body that was missing fur, skin and exposed straight on muscle.
I took her to the vet immediately. They said it was one of the worst cases they had seen and was not sure there would be enough skin to sew her back up.
Well, the folks as Bradshaw Vet Clinic in Elk Grove did a great job. IVY is the proud recipient of a new hiney with her butt life and abdominoplasty. While she looks like a five year old cat now....sans fur that is. She is still not out of the woods, but with some prayers and lots of drugs she will be okay.

Oh mY sIx moNthS AlreaDy?

2010-04-13T12:58:00.000-07:00

Boy does time fly...it has been six months since we first met this Charming Young Man. He has gone in just a short amount of time from being the only child in his kindergarten class that did not speak or read English to be one of the top five students in reading, writing and math. Now that is a testament to intense English immersion for kids in school if I ever heard of one. While definitely NOT politically correct...it WORKS!

Life lessons for six year olds...

2010-04-01T14:23:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday #6 MeiMei. Little bunny FuFu had another lifetime moment this week on the morning of her birthday...and it went like this.
MeiMei:(7:05am) Mom, is today my birthday?
Me: Yes, sweetheart. Today is your birthday.
MeiMei: Am I six this morning?
Me: Yes, FuFu you are 6 this morning and each morning for the next 364 days.
MeiMei: But Mom, something is wrong?
Me: What is wrong?
MeiMei: I do not feel any older. I do not feel six. I feel the same as I did when I was five.
Me: Yep honey, that is how you feel when you get older...each year when my birthday comes, I still feel like I am 38.

And now for the cake... So what do you get when you have a nine year old that is obsessed with cake shows on the cooking channel? Uh you get FuFu's birthday cake that's what. So you ask what is it? Uhhhh I do not know...but if you turn it upside down it could be used as a weapon.

Please Make it Be Over...

2010-03-07T21:34:00.000-08:00

Dear Highest Priestess of Girl Scouts, Please Please Please make cookie season be over. I do not think I can take another box. I am needing to go in to Girl Scout Cookie Detox. To all of you that ordered cookies from Canoley, you can expect to see them arrive at your home shortly. Ms Canoley took second billing in her troup for her sales. Her killer tencity took me by surprize. My inability to have any willpower over the cookies does not take me by surprize---which is why they gotta go NOW.

Can Someone Help Explain...

2010-03-04T16:43:00.000-08:00

How can the girl does this to her room...

Do this to the home when you are not looking?

A wee bit of the Irish...

2010-03-02T09:20:00.000-08:00

Ahhh Welcome March! The lovely month of green. This month helps wash away the greys of winter which by about now is well....greatly needed. I am ready for some warm (no not hot) sunny days.

Spring is a great time here in the big tomato, but unfortunatley only lasts about 3 weeks and then the heat starts up again...okay so maybe that is a tad bit of exageration...but it sure feels that way.

So I walk outside today and what do I notice growing in my cacti? Shamrocks...and lots of them. Looks like some luck is on it way.

Do Shamrocks grow in the Desert? I do not know...but I do know they grow in the big Tomato. If you know...well, let me know...

Happy Fu Day #3

2010-02-27T14:38:00.000-08:00

It is hard to believe that three years ago today we met our little miss FuFu for the very first time. A lot has changed since then but she is still our little bunny FuFu and yes she does on occasion like to bop things on the head :-).
On Gotcha day she was a scared little girl who once we took her outside and showed her all of the red lanterns stopped crying. Within three hours we had a very inquisitive little girl who by day two was fully of belly laughs and mischief.
We love you FuFu happy Fu Day- MomMom and DaddyO.

Too Much of a Good Thing?

2010-02-21T16:36:00.000-08:00

How do you know if too much of a good thing is, well...too much? I've been encouraging, I mean threatening the kids that along with their trashing junk food books that they read well written time tested books. Noley has been very good about this and has been on a Dog kick recently finishing such books as The Call of the Wild, Balto and the Great Race, Stone Fox and Akiak : A Tale from the Iditarod.
So being the typical parent, I was quite proud until I looked out the window yesterday and witnessed this scene...Noley with HooHaa and MeiMei roped and tied and pulling her on a Scooter as she yelled at them "Mush Mush come on Doggies" When I asked her what she was doing she said she was "training for the Iditarod. What does it look like I am doing?" Uh Noley we live in Sacramento...

What's Up Duck?

2010-02-20T17:14:00.000-08:00

Huh you say? Yep me too... Here is how it happens each year. First we hear the loud and long laborious quack followed by a loud splash...then two minutes later we hear it again.
We know it can only mean one thing...the ducks are back. Each year the ducks from the park fly over and land in our pool for the day. I guess it is their equivalent of a quick weekend getaway. Personally when I choose a quick getaway I like it to be kid free. Each year they land and each year they figure out our yard is full of kids and cats...the head over the our retired neighbors quite relaxing pool.

First Science Contest

2010-02-19T13:17:00.001-08:00

Okay so while I am rather kick back with most things, everyone once in a while I come across something that brings out the competitive spirit in me. Welcome to the Kindergarten Science project. Objective: Make a house for an Ice Cube. Goal: Keep the ice cube from melting. Lesson Learned: Don't know don't care---just win!
So MeiMei and I decided we would raid Mr T's glass packing supplies for the house. The house cannot be a cooler or larger and 12 x 12. So we found some old packing supplies and built a seven layer rectangle house composed with an inner layer of foam, a second layer of thin blue ice and five more layers of foamy paper stuff we grabbed out of the recycle bin.
Well when we were done, we ended up with a very small house with a little trap door at the top. Not all that impressive at least to a five year old. Mei Mei was NOT a happy camper with her "house" she wanted a pretty house with a roof and chimney and such. She started crying and complained that her house looked like an EGG. She would not even take it too school.

So the day before the big event, I went into the classroom for some espionage on others homes...Holy Smokes...there were some SERIOUS houses. It turns out that one can do Internet research on building these houses and several parents had done such research. Boy I must admit, I never thought of that--Dang! So after leaving the class, I knew there was NO way we would win the ice cube contest, but we might stand a chance at the popular vote contest.

I thought if we can't win, we can at least be darn cute. And if we had an EGG house then an EGG it will be. I asked MeiMei what protects its eggs in the winter? And she knew right away. A Penguin. So a penguin it would be. We drive to the thrift store and found the perfect penguin. We took out his bottom and placed him over our egg house and voila...the perfect penguin ice cube house.

We took him to school on the morning of the contest and of course knowing my audience of 5 and 6 year olds they LOVED MeiMei's penguin "house" as everyone wanted to pick it up and hug it. What came as the total shocker was that WE WON! OUR HOUSE LASTED THE LONGEST. So not only did MeiMei win the popular vote we won the Science Project. Fifty entries and we won. I was trilled...and MeiMei was in disbelief since it was not "pretty" So I present to you the winning March of the Penguin Ice House.

The verdict is in

2010-02-19T13:17:00.000-08:00

I have Pneumonia. After four months of being sick, I finally went to the doctor and whatdaya know I am really sick. Somehow I feel much better knowing that I am NOT crazy. I should be feeling better in a week. I am looking forward to having more energy and the ability to get back to doing five things at a time.

Feb 15th and the Pool is Open...

2010-02-15T14:46:00.000-08:00

For those that actually read this blog, you will remember last year that the swimming pool officially opened in Mid March and I had commented that each year that we have lived here the kids keep moving the opening of the pool up by month month. Well this year it stands to be true once again. Where the first year year we started swimming in May, this year it is February and they are NUTS! Yes it is a gorgeous sunny day but warm? Uh not quite. It is around 69 degree which is no where near what I consider pool weather. So while people all around this US are FREEZING, my yahoos are swimming in the pool. Now that's a crazy Californian for you. And no, for those wondering...our pool is NOT heated...hense the life jackets incase their hearts stop when they jump in!

Yikes, Somebody Knows Me

2010-02-10T09:04:00.000-08:00

So a couple weeks ago I was at one of my favorite shopping stores which for this post will remain anonymous... and I see this woman about my age with the most adorable looking little daughter who was about 18 months old. We were in the same isle at the store and I was looking at her noticing that she was Caucasian with an Asian daughter. Now, I walk a fine line with approaching people that fit that description and with making the assumption that the daughter is adopted especially since I now know enough families with bio kids who have one parent that is Caucasian and one the is Asian--we have three such families at school--(the same families assumed Mr T was Chinese).
So anyway on with my post... I asked her if I could be rude and ask if her daughter was from adopted from China and that my asking was because I had just returned myself from China three months ago. Well imagine my surprise when she said yes and that she was in China when we were in China and get this...when I told her my name she said..."are you the Big Tomato?" ....uh Yep ... that be me. She knew all about me the yahoos and our journey to China. Small world..but we all know that don't we.

Hello Out There

2010-02-10T08:49:00.000-08:00

Yes, I am here and we are all fine. Relatively speaking. I tell you, I understand this is the season of flu's colds and all other things not pleasent...but dang! I have been feeling puny since we got home from China in November. I cannot seem to kick whatever it is that has me operating somewhere between 35% - 65% of my usual capacity. If it is not once thing it is another. It seems to be a cycle of sorts. Feel bad -- don't sleep well -- get run down -- get sick again...and the cycle repeats its self over and over again.
I feel like I need some warm sunny weather to warm up my soul and spirit to kick this darn WHATEVER I have. Three and a half months is TOO long to be feeling puny. The yahoos are doing okay. They have each been sick once this season but nothing that lingered. Just me the lucky one. I am ready for Spring. I know I should not complain when so many people in the
Midwest and east coast are being hit with monster storms and we just have our typical February 60 degree grey foggy days. Here is to dreaming about warm sunny days sitting in the shade by the pool drinking a cool beverage...

Earth Shaking News....

2010-01-09T19:49:00.000-08:00

So this afternoon, Mr T is out by the pool and notices something unusual....the water is moving but there is no one in the pool and the filter is not on. Hummm so he calls me out to look and see. Yep the water was swelling 6 inches and rolling like the ocean. As a native Californian, I knew it could only be one thing.... EARTHQUAKE IN CALIFORNIA! With the size of the swells I figured it had to be over a 5 on the ricter scale. The question was where was it happening. Here in the Tomato we are out of the so called official earthquake zone---meaning we do not feel most of them....but while we could not feel it standing in place...it was very clear the earth was moving. San Francisco? LA? Central Coast? North Coast? Where.... Well here we have it...http://www.mercurynews.com/bay-area-news/ci_14157524?source=rss&nclick_check=1
Eureka California located in the far northern coast of the state had an earth quake today of a 6.5.

Two More Years To Go....Ha!!

2010-01-03T20:48:00.000-08:00

2009-12-22T15:28:00.001-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Typical Morning Vignette

2009-12-10T09:26:00.000-08:00

Each morning I plant the four yahoos around the table and clean the kitchen or try to do some work on the computer as they eat breakfast before we head out the door. This morning struck me as quite funny and very typical with the crazy kids that I live with.

Noley: "I'll take a burrito with a fork...mom did you remember to bring in the violins from the car?...

MeiMei: " Mom do you know what I am thankful for...(secretly hoping I will be somewhere in the answer)...I am thankful for carrots...gum...cookies...and for learning to write and read...Oh and I will take a burrito cut in half with a fork...not a big fork one of the small forks"...

HooHaa: " MeiMei did it!"

Tobbers: " Mom I've been having visions of the future again...they are happening at night when I sleep...Mom why is it that only the second tier of the fountain froze this morning? Oh and Mom do you know what I am thankful for? ... (again secretly hoping one of four children is thankful for moi)...I am thankful for the big bang...because without it none of us would be here.

Moi: (to myself) I am thankful for pots of coffee....and "I am thankful for all of you! and my morning coffee"

And so is my morning...

All she wants for Christmas is her 2 front teeth...

2009-12-08T13:13:00.000-08:00

Oh yeah that's right...Noley is in the marketplace for two new teeth to replace the two permanent teeth that she broke in half yesterday. So much for the dental insurance that we lost last month. Well, we are off to the dentist to shop for some new teeth. What is it with these Tomatoes? Noley will join both her father and sister in the two front teeth Christmas camp... Buying new teeth for my daughter was not exactly what I had in mind for a Christmas present.

Stephanie, this post is for you...

2009-12-02T20:51:00.000-08:00

There is a woman in China who is conducting some research for families of children from Wuzhou Social Welfare Institute in Wuzhou, Guangxi province. Of course when I heard about this I wanted to know more. Our little MeiMei is a Wuzhou girl but with a twist. She is only one of two girls that I am aware of that started their lives in the Teng County SWI in Wuzhou.
After three years of searching for information on this SWI, I know no more than when I started. With this research I am hoping to learn more about where MeiMei spent the first year of her life and the nature of why she was transferred to Wuzhou SWI. Lucky for us...because her transfer made it possible for her to find her way into our home. Stephanie also has a Teng girl who was living in the orphanage when our MeiMei was there. It appears that both girls were transferred at the same time and were adopted a little more than one year apart from each other. One here in the big tomato and one in lone star state. Here are the photos that we first saw of our little MeiMei

Day 2 of the season and no signs of life...

2009-12-02T19:23:00.000-08:00

*********************** Please someone come and HELP ME...we are two days into the Christmas season and there are no signs of it in Tomato home. I am paralyzed each year when it comes time to set up a tree, decorate it and make the house look happy and merry. I enjoy the looks of Christmas and love how peoples homes look all decorated. It's just I HATE decorating for Christmas.
I think I harbor too many years of being traumatized as a child from having to decorate a tree with "one piece of tinsel at a time" and placing ornaments in the "right spot with adequate space"...ahhhhh I hate trimming trees. I like tree trimming parties just don't ask me to do anything. I have adorable ornaments and lots of items to place around the home...I just don't want to do it.

I am happy to have kids now that I can let them do all of the decorating of the tree and such...however with that being said, there is just one problem to having children decorate your tree...check out the photos from Christmas pasts and you will see what I mean... (decorated Santa's---dead Polly pockets and Santa's accomplice, Barney with cap, horizontal trees aka fallen over for the third time, wreath wearing roosters and earthquake gingerbread houses...OY VAY!)

Home 1 month and 2 big milestones...

2009-12-01T09:27:00.001-08:00

December first and it marks two HUGE milestones in my book. First Hoo read his first English word. "HOME" He was helping me put away some files in my office and saw the word Home on my Home Depo Stock file and said " Mama, Home Mama Home" as he pointed to the file. I said yes Hoo! I find the serendipity of a newly adopted child reading his first English word being "Home" quite amazing.

The second HUGE landmark milestone is that today Hoo officially starts morning kindergarten! Hallelujah! I have spent the past month with three morning drop offs at school and three afternoon pickups. It is INSANE. I am INSANE and have been on the precipitous brink of ... well something that I am sure would involve ETOH.

He has been sitting in an afternoon Kinder class that has been, well less than desirable by my tweaked standards (yes, I am accepting that I have different standards for my kids education than that state of California does) and he will finally leave the island of misfit toys to join the likes of the living.
So what does this mean for me? THREE HOURS OF BEING ABLE TO WORK! Oh yeah Baby! And when work gets busy in the springtime it means 4th R three afternoons a week....giving me SIX HOURS!
Notice the official HooHaa uniform. Jeans and an orange striped shirt. He refuses to wear anything but a striped shirt with a collar in either orange or blue. Nothing else (unless you count the superman PJ top)...or he will sneak off and change it back to orange or blue stripes. I am not used to have an opinionated boy. My boy experience is one that would wear anything I tell him including a potato sack. This is going to take some getting used to.

Food Food the Glorious Food...

2009-11-16T13:33:00.001-08:00

So what did we love about China?...Well if you take one look at the photos you will find a central theme. FOOD! All of us Tomatoes love to eat...Cherries to Beefsteaks---We LOVE our food. I think one of my favorite things to do when traveling to another country is to check out the local markets and see what the offer in the grocery stores. I love trying new things and that love has been passed on to all of the Tomatoes.

I think back to the time when Linjit and I were at a Japanese grocery store and found that everyone around us was buying this interesting package of ??? something. We decided to by on and take it home only to discover it tasted like wax and was hard as a rock despite how long we cooked it. Only to find out from a Japanese friend that our special little item was not meant for consumption...it was an ornament for decoration. (I still cannot figure out why the instructions all in Japanese showed it boiling in water)

Once again in China we were thrilled with all of the magnificent food choices. We ate everything and everywhere from street vendors, to snack stations to smelly restaurants. Don't speak Chinese??? No problem just smile, point and say a prayer.

Not sure what we ate at times. We came home with a couple award winning dishes that we have been tinkering with here at home. My favorite right now is the cilantro and peanut salad.

Nanjing China Cilantro Salad

2 bunches of Cilantro chopped (about 2 cups)

1/2 cup of salted peanuts

1/3 cup of sesame soy vinigrete (3 T sesame oil, 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar, 3T sugar, 2T soy sauce) add more vinegar to taste

Toss and eat.

Let me know if you like the salad. I LOVE it, but then I LOVE cilantro. I will be posting this salad over at TastyKitchen.

Oh...and did I mention that we also like to taste the local beverages? PeiJiu anyone?

Derby the huh?

2009-11-13T09:58:00.000-08:00

When traveling one gets to see many interesting sites. Sometimes the sights are not really scenic per se but ummm.... well see if you can figure it out. This advertising sign was posted on the back of all of the seats on flight to Nanjing on China Northern.

Derby the world in my finger...huh? Let me know if you can figure it out. Post it in my comments if you know. I do not.

2009-11-12T19:16:00.000-08:00

Wholey Toleeeedo, can that be true? One month ago today you joined our crazy family. It seems like a second ago we were in China and yet light years away. Funny how that happens. Your life has changed so much in 30 days. You have traveled half way around the world. Rode cars, trains, boats and airplanes. Started school and rode your first bike. The future is yours big guy.
Gotcha Day flashback. We all rode in the bus to the civil affairs office to meet you. The room was filled with families from the US and Spain. There were about a dozen excited families waiting. All of sudden the first group of kids arrived. We were able to watch them meet their families for the first time. The new parents were crying...the babies were crying...and next thing you know the grownup Tomatos are all crying...
About ten minutes into the arrival of the first set of kids, I hear someone tell me that HooHaa was arrived and was walking into the building. I jump up to look outside the window and as I am hanging out the window trying to steal a glimpse of him...I panic because either I did not see him or he has changed so much I did not recognize him. Nope neither... He was standing behind me most likely thinking "what kind of loon of a mom did I get...why is she hanging out the window like she gonna jump?" There he was with two nannies dressed in his finest of blue dragon silks wearing a Cal Berkley hat. She was smiley and interested in us. He was quite but taking everything in. MeiMei was smothering him with hugs and kisses. She could not leave him alone she was so happy to have "her brother" All of the kids were so sweet to him. And then it came time to say goodbye.
He did not cry until that is his two nannies announced that they were leaving him. Then it hit him...I have to stay with these loud big people? He cried hard for about 45 minutes. Really really hard. He was one sad guy. He tired to run after is his nannies when he saw them leave but the told him to stay with us and he did. He cried all the way back to the hotel and when our bus pulled up to the Mandarin Garden Hotel he stopped crying.
We went up to our room for some paperwork details and within an hour we had big smiles and belly laughs from him. Soon he was singing and dancing for us and acting like one happy boy. As we did with MeiMei we decided to win him over with food and it worked. The guy loves to eat and so do we. The first night on the way to the restaurant he keep singing "HongHong...Baba...HongHong Mama...HongHong Meimei...etc. He had all of our names down and was singing them along with his name. I think he is going to fit in with us quite nicely.

Intervention or garbage bag?

2009-11-10T14:18:00.000-08:00

So what have I been doing since we've been home from China? Uhhhh trying to find my way out of this MESS....

I'm ALIVE...

2009-10-28T11:53:00.000-07:00

Uh...I mean we are alive. In short, we had a FABULOUS time in China. All of the Yahoos did AMAZINGLY well. The newest Cherry Tomato -- HooHaa is doing just great. He is a happy happy boy. He is 110% boy with two modes of operation. Fully caffeinated and asleep.
Last night was the first night since we got home this past weekend that we ALL sleep through the night. I have not sleep more than 2 hours at a time since last Wednesday (china time). I am starting to come out of the fog and get back into the routine. Once I have uploaded my pictures off my camera, I will post some to share....

2009-10-13T11:20:00.000-07:00

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AutumnWaitingFamilies/photos/album/1657746064/pic/967137032/view?picmode=&mode=tn&order=ordinal&start=1&count=20&dir=asc Adoption Day (tuesday)He Likes us He Really Likes us He woke up a happy guy with no issues. We took Tobbers along with us to the adoption signing while the girls stayed back at the hotel. I expected major tears like the hour after gotcha once he saw the orphanage staff...but NO..nothing. He told the guide and the director that he had a very good time yesterday and really liked us and wanted to stay with us. That he thought we were fun and he liked that he went to a restaurant, ate ice cream and played at the pool---that is our life on a regular basis. He spend the afternoon singing NON STOP...the guy is a budding Karaoke singer...little does he know what waits for him at home. He is very sweet. Loves to share with everyone. He constantly is cleaning and organizing the room and his things. He is a cleaning machine....we will see how long that lasts until the other yahoos corrupt him. He loves to eat, he loves to clean, he loves to sing and dance. The nannies said he was a very sweet boy that is kind to all and is well loved and liked by the other children. They said he is very easy going and never causes probelms. We discover he has been in kindergarten and knows his letters and numbers and colors...albeit in chinese. We learned that he speaks Wuxi but can understand Mandarin. This is be very helpful for him as he transitions since we have access to Mandarin services at school and home. He has been picking up new words in the past 24 hours and has all of the kids names down already. he is a very smart boy. All of the kids are really pitching in to help him. They have been amazing. Tomorrow we go out touring.

2009-10-13T11:19:00.000-07:00

Sunday- Arrived in Nanjing We made it to Nanjing on Sunday but my laptop did not. It is dead as dead can be. I am pleased but not as pleased as the kids to have a larger hotel room. Blogger is blocked as is face book, youtube and any other information self posting sites. So so much for keeping folks up to date. This should all change (except my computer) when we leave Friday for Guangzhou and arrive at the White Swan hotel. Gotcha Day (monday) Well...in a nutshell...we have it and it went amazing well...he likes us a lot. We arrived at the offical province office and found out selves sitting with around 11 other families. We were the "Duggers" of the group with family in tow. We started watching babies arrive and I was leaning out the window to gawk when everyone announced that he "hooHaa" was here. Me, leaning now all the way out the window cannot find him. Finally they grab me from out the window to turn me around to find a little man sitting in front of me wearing his silk traditional blue dragon pajamas and a CAL berkley hat. He was smiling, and content to sit with us and show us his photo book that we sent him of us. Everything was fine until his nannies decided to leave. Then the flood gates broke loose. There was not a dry eye in the house. He cried through our adoption family photo,,,,he cried on the van back to the hotel he wimpered back to the hotel room and then....in the typical Tomato family tradition, we brought out the food. Within 2 hours of him being with us he was laughing, smiling, singing and dancing. Yep this little guy is one of us. Flashy clothes and all. By the time dinner came around he was singing his name then each name of our family. Hong Hong...Baba...Hong Hong...mama....Hong Hong...meimei...everyone of us. This is a happy boy.

gotcha day photo link
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AutumnWaitingFamilies/photos/album/1657746064/pic/967137032/view?picmode=&mode=tn&order=ordinal&start=1&count=20&dir=asc

I'll have a Sampan, a wild monkey with some Hot chili's on the side...

2009-10-10T03:09:00.000-07:00

Hong Kong Day 2 - the Yahoos and Mr T started their day at 2:45 in the morning. Those of us in the sorority room woke up at a blissful 6am. I was glad not to be in the Yahoo room. We spent the day touring the standard Hong Kong sites. Tram up to Victory Peak, Sampan Rides in the South China Sea, shopping at the Stanley Market, visiting the crazy priced jewelery store, and eating at the Bee Cafe (Aunt Bee photo to follow when I can figure out how to upload) followed by hot blinding chili sauce in the eye. Yep...the food was so good that not only did I inhale it I decided to apply it as eyeliner. My eye swelled, my face swelled, my nasal cavities swelled and my children's bladders emptied with laughter at me! Yes I think the whole restaurant and walkers by on the street were all watching me withering in pain and embarrassment.
I went back to the room to put the Yahoos down for a siesta and an ice pack for me. Mr T, Jinjit and KC trekked off to the 10,000 Buddas temple. (I will ask Linjet and KC to provide a guest editoral on their quite exciting afternoon jaunt) Tonight we head down to the Harbor to watch the Hong Kong light show on the water that makes Las Vegas look like a back yard party.

What's Bigger than a Breadbox but smaller than a Queen Sized Bed?

2009-10-08T19:47:00.000-07:00

I'll tell ya...a hotel room at the Regal Riverside in Hong Kong. Okay I am so NOT joking here. This is the smallest hotel room. We cannot stop laughing about it. Now, mind you, I have stayed in my share of dive hotel/motel/hostel rooms in Europe where you could not open the door to the room because it hit the bed, but this room is a side splitter. It is soooooo stinking small that we call keep laughing when we look at ourselves in it. Thank god we will be also occupying the room next door when it is clean. Yes is it snazzy with a view...but an all white hotel room with three yahoos under the age of 9? Yeah right? These are the days that memories are made of... Here is photo to show you just how small a room can be.

We're Heeeeerrrrrrreeeeeee

2009-10-08T19:29:00.000-07:00

Well boarded Cathay Pacific's red eye to HongKong last...uhhh.. Whenever...the last 24 hours have been a blur... & Tomato's seven suitcases and we all arrived awake, happy and all in one piece.

The flight was uneventful, which is EXACTLY what one wants when they fly halfway across the world. A word to those who who will be flying to China after us...Let me make this very simple---SINGAPORE AIR. Which is NOT the airlines we flew this time around. As a former traveling girl pre kids, I got to be rather familiar with the various airlines. And I learned whenever a choice is even, never choose an american airline. Now, I can hear some of you...I love being an American and am proud to represent my country when I leave it...but man US airlines are not the happiest places in air. This time we flew Cathay Pacific a Hong Kong based airline that came recommended by our Chinese travel agency, and they did just fine. I mean most of all they got us here in one piece---which says alot. But they were not SINGAPORE AIR. Next trip to Asia...will be using the WORLDS BEST AIRLINE---SINGAPORE AIR.

24 hours and counting till we head out...

2009-10-06T18:28:00.000-07:00

Well my laundry has been released from washing machine lock down and my clothes are packed. Linjit arrived this afternoon. KC will be flying in from Las Vegas tomorrow night and will meet up with us at SFO. By this time tomorrow night the whole basket of Tomato's will be sitting together waiting to catch a plane to Hong Kong. This will be the first time we have all traveled together in a long time and the first time overseas as a group. The energy level is running quite high with the yahoos both young and old.

We will be heading out shortly for a salad extravaganza for dinner since we know it will be a while since we will get to eat any...and I have found it quite interesting that whether I am traveling to Europe or Asia...the only food that I miss is eating a really good salad with blue cheese.

We are looking forward as usual to eating our way through the country. I'm confident all of us will be in hog heaven with the food in China that is with the exception of Tobbers. It will be quite interesting what boring carbo boy will be eating. I secretly am quite happy to submerge him in a sea of vegetables where he will have limited carbo choices. With any luck we will be able to convert him into being an adventurous eater like the rest of us. Hey a mom can wish can't she?

I cannot believe that after TWO years this is really going to happen...

3 Days till Departure...

2009-10-04T12:56:00.000-07:00

Three days till we leave. Boys are packed. Mr T is packed. Girls are packed. And my clothes are being held hostage locked inside my STUPID washing machine that will not let me open the door. Yes, this is what I get for waiting till the last minute to pack MY clothes... You see I bought this fancy pants with all of the bells and whistles washing machine and it is POSSESSED. It starts a load and then halfway through it stops the load defaults and then holds my clothes locked inside for a couple days. I have spend over 400 dollars replacing parts to FPWasher. Now I am ready to take a sledgehammer to it. I tell you know if I was not leaving the country in three days I would be out today buying a new CHEAP PLAIN JANE washing machine--that offers one the ability to open the door at will and use manual buttons.
So at this point I only see two options: 1) travel to China naked (it will be hot ya'know) or go out and buy new clothes. Hummm which one shall it be?? I know which option Mr T would choose.

FIVE DAYS..TILL LIFTOFF

2009-10-01T20:45:00.000-07:00

FIVE DAYS... and still I am not packed... Boys are packed and everytime I start packing for the girls they take it back out and tell want to pack something else. I think I am going to just have to pack and tell them they will just have to be surpized. While I would like to empower them to learn to pack. I am also a realist to know that five swimsuits, one pair of underwear and three sets of PJ's is not enough clothing for a two week trip.

A Post From Mr T

2009-10-01T16:57:00.000-07:00

A posting from Mr Tomato ...

Finally - It feels like we are really going to do this thing. I am so happy to be going on a world class adventure with you guys (the yahoos) that at times I skip over the fact that we are adding a new little guy to the family. Hua Hong (Han) - Now that is a name not easily forgotten or necessarily easily remembered.

We are all on an adventure - but just think of his adventure . . . ours pales in scope compared to what he is facing. Loss of all things familiar with this very funny looking tribe of giants, that are so dumb that I can not understand one word they say nor they me. Did I mention they smell funny and laugh all the time at who knows what. It is likely he has never been in a car, or a bus, or a train, or a boat, or a plane and this crazy group will take him on all of them in the first week of meeting. He has likely been bathed in a sink - it is possible he may enjoy his very first bath or shower - not to mention the opportunity to go swimming in the gigantic pool at the Regal Riverside - Are you kidding me - they want me to go in that pond ?? They are nuts. Oh and the food - my, my, my - they eat a lot - as much as we like - when ever we like - this part is not so bad. (What is a special treat?) I wonder where they are taking me and why ?? I really want to go back to the center and see my friends - tomorrow is peserved egg congee and fish broth (my favorite) breakfast - I hope they take me back before that. No such luck. This candy stuff tastes awful ---much too sweet - why would they think I would like it? And where are my clothes ? These clothes are ridiculous - there are no split seat to PO PO and Wee at will - I guess they want me to do that in these dumb tight cloths with no holes. They never make me wear my coat - Nanny, would have me in two padded jackets today. Where is she anyway ? I miss her. I miss the kids and my buddy Chen. Another bus trip - Oh my stomach - I think I'll puke - maybe I should puke on the fat guy who always trying to hold my hand. Lie Lie Sou yourself pal. You wear too much smelly stuff.

And so the adventure will continue - we will go to Temples (sending up many prayers in smoke) and gain blessings and wishes of good fortune, prosperity, success and do the best we can to all have a most wondrous harmonious adventure. Much to learn , much to be aware of, much to share. Let's do it. I am ready to Go.

To quote the MeiMei " We need to go now - he is waiting and waiting for his family ! Let's go now

" Note: the wisdom of a child that has taken the same journey - things that make you say HHHMMMMMMMMmmmmmm. Love daddeo

9/27... Happy BirthDay to ME!

2009-09-27T11:31:00.000-07:00

Yes it has almost slipped by but it is my official birthday month. The month in which the world evolves around me...or at least I like to think it does. Traditionally this means a shopping trip but this year it means another trip to China.

The girls helped bake this years birthday cake which was a triple layered (they were quite impressed by its height) banana vanilla spice cake. What the heck is that you say? It layered spice cake, banana pudding, sliced bananas, vanilla cake, more layers of banana pudding and bananas topped with another layer of spice cake and with a final layer of whipped cream. Ahhhh if only I would have thought of adding a dash of Meyers spiced rum....

I chose for my Birthday dinner a trip to OZ for Korean food which proved once again that OZ is the perfect name for the place. It is a slice or in their case lots of slices of HEAVEN.

What Color Hair Do You Have?

2009-09-27T11:24:00.000-07:00

MeiMei: Mom why do you love my hair?
Me: I love your hair because it is the color of one of my favorite things in life...black coffee.
Noley: What about me mom?
Me: Noley I love your hair because it is the color of milk chocolate.
Noley: Mom your hair looks like Mitzi's (the dog that lives next door)
Tobbers: (from out of the blue) Mom, I think my hair is the color of an iced vanilla lowfat coffee latte.
Me: Tobbers you are your fathers son.