New Year's Eve with Eddie Money

Tonight we celebrated the coming of a new year with Trung's co-workers at Shutters on the Beach. We had an awesome buffet with raw seafood, sliders, pizza, an open bar, and desserts; and 80's singer Eddie Money rocked the night away with his hits. Happy New Year!

With my love

Trung got to invite more people, so we invited my good friend Snow, whose husband was watching our five kids

"Take Me Home Tonight"

"Two Tickets to Paradise"


Eddie Money!


The kids were fast asleep while we partied....four little girls in a row.

A holiday week

Though both kids were home from school, the week went by rather quickly. Tuesday, we went grocery shopping and then I dropped the kids off at the library with Snow to do crafts while I made dinner for everyone. It was my first time making prime rib and it turned out pretty well.

Straight out of the oven

Prime rib, ratatouille, and garlic potatoes

Wednesday, we went to the outlet and shopped until they kicked us out. We didn't get home until 10:30 and were exhausted, but I got some really good deals.

The kids entertaining themselves at the Coach outlet store.

Thursday, I did three loads of laundry in the morning and then walked with the kids to Color Me Mine to do some ceramic painting. Sophie picked a Snow White piece and Lydia picked a unicorn. They were doing so well until Sophie dropped her princess and beheaded her, but at least now we know that she's still a bit too young for this activity.

Such concentration

Lydia likes colorful things

Friday, we had couple playdates. After lunch, Lydia preschool friend Ava came over and soon after, Snow brought her three kids. Snow and Ken went on a date night, so I watched the kids by myself for a couple hours until Trung got home. The kids were all pretty good, but it's definitely an experience.

Goofing around with Ava


Life with five kids

Iron Chefs

When we got home on Monday, the girls had their biggest Christmas present awaiting them...a play kitchen from Mommy and Daddy. Since I had to get my crown put in at the dentist, Trung just asked the girls to stay upstairs as he put the kitchen together. He got through most of it by the time they got restless and came downstairs. They were super excited and even helped put the rest of it together.

Assembly

As a friend put it...Iron Chef meets America's Next Top Model

A Sunny Christmas

We left early Saturday morning for Orange County, first dropping by The Beachcomber Cafe to see if we could get in with a decent wait. Alas, it was not to be as the wait was 1.5 hours. So instead we had brunch at a nearby bagel shop. We arrived at Mike's place by noon and munched on Vietnamese food and played board games the entire afternoon.

We spent Christmas Day watching basketball games and finally at 5, we headed to my Aunt Monica's house for a potluck dinner. We had a feast and later, six kids went wild opening presents. Fun stuff!

Christmas on the beach

Jenga time!

This is how the girls were all Christmas day watching My Little Ponies while the adults watched basketball.

A pile of presents before...

and after.

The whole gang

Merry Christmas!

Christmas sing-along with my talented SIL Minji at the piano

Resting after a busy evening

LTP Christmas Party

Sophie's Learning Through Play class had a Christmas party today and since Lydia is now out of school for the rest of the year, she came along. After snacking on PB & J quesadillas, chicken nuggets, and veggies, the kids played musical chairs and parachute. Sophie has had a wonderful time in this class and will continue attending twice a week until the summer.

Kids playing musical chairs...this could get nasty.

How Sophie got out

How did I know that Lydia was going to win? She's a competitor like her mommy and she was the oldest one there!


Under the parachute

Hitching a free ride

Sophie and Teacher Anna

Chipwrecked

We went with a group of about 20 people to watch the new Chipmunks movie "Chipwrecked", which was pretty cute. Then we walked over to Santa Monica Place and had lunch together. By the time the kids played on the whale and we walked home, it was already 5! What a great way to spend the day!

Part of our group heading over to Santa Monica Place

The kids engrossed with Gymboree TV

We walked by Skechers on the Promenade and saw a sign that Hall of Famer Joe Montana would be there in about 15 minutes, so of course, we waited. :)

Candy Cane Lane

Tonight we went with my friend Julie and her family to the famed Candy Cane Lane, where street after street is lit with Christmas cheer. It certainly was a sight to see, with people selling snacks and hot drinks along the way. After walking a few blocks, we went to Star BBQ and ate our hearts out.

Bella, me and Lydia

Candy Cane Lane

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas

A fun-filled day

We started off the morning with gingerbread cookie decorating and storytelling by Mrs. Claus. Someone had tickets to the event and was unable to attend, so she gave me her tickets which she received a month earlier. Santa Monica Place has such wonderful events and for free! Afterwards, we enjoyed free carousel rides at the Pier and took pictures with Santa. The weather was a bit strange, raining randomly throughout the day, so we headed back home for lunch.

Five extra tickets were given to five happy little girls

Storytelling was a bit boring, but it was a cool concept

The girls showing off their face paintings

Our first time on the carousel at the pier

Photo opp with Santa

One of the girls favorite things to do...chase pigeons

Jessica and Tom hosted this month's potluck. They did a great job cleaning up their place and even added a Christmas tree! The adults had a white elephant exchange while the kids each got gifts from a Secret Santa. Don't you just love Christmas?

Sweet kids



I didn't know even that Lydia could hula hoop! Apparently, she practices a lot at school.

And apparently Trung practices at work too!

My afternoon in a nutshell

As I was walking with the girls to the library for a dance workshop, Trung called to inform me that the T-mobile elf was at our local store. He had been following T-mobile on Twitter because the first person to tweet about the elf after seeing it in person would get $1000 and a free $500 phone. Since I was already halfway to the library and Snow was waiting for me, I had to go, but once I arrived, I literally left the girls with Snow and dashed to the store. Since I didn't have a Twitter account (Trung was going to tweet once I got there), it didn't matter that I was there, but fortunately, Trung ended up coming and got runner-up and the $500 free phone. Yay!

First place winner, the elf, and Trung

Since I got back to the library after the performance had begun, I was locked out and couldn't go back in until it ended. At least I got go in afterwards and still watch the lessons.

Lydia prancing around


After the workshop, Snow, her kids, the girls, and I went to The Fairmont Hotel for some hot drinks. It was a really nice hotel and we felt a little out of place with five kids, but the kids were pretty well behaved and really enjoyed their hot chocolates.

Entertaining the kids with Youtube videos

Our little group

Decorating

We purchased Princess themed wall decals from Costco for the girls' room and they have been dying to put them up. So, finally the weekend came and put their favorite princesses next to their beds while Maggie did the other ones.

Lydia put Ariel near her top bunk

Trung insisted using the toy camel's bottom to smooth out the decals

Sophie showing her favorite princess, Snow White

Kinecting

Lydia's classmate Maggie's family invited us over tonight for a potluck and to play Kinect. We ate some delicious pulled pork and chili, and embarrassed ourselves trying to dance with the Kinect. Maggie has three other siblings, so the girls always had someone to play with, which is always a good thing.

Maggie's twin brother Xander and Lydia

Sophie was missing half the evening playing in the kids' room with Marina

The celebrity neighbor James Madio, known for is younger roles in "Hook" and "Band of Brothers"

San Diego Friends

Sabrina and her kids Ava and Pierson came up to LA to visit Disneyland for a few days. After all the fun, they spent the night with us Thursday night and we hung out around Santa Monica this morning. We don't get to see each other that often, so it was fun catching up with her.

Yes, it's true, my 3.5 year old can barely keep her 18-24 months bottoms on

Sabrina, me, and the kids at Santa Monica Place

Christie and her family came over for a simple dinner tonight since our complete families rarely get together. The kids were nice and rowdy, but they had a blast.

Christie's three goofy kids in deep meditation

Like nothing happened

Before heading back to Houston to catch my flight, I had lunch with my old Austin friends and their growing families. We tried to catch up during the little time that I had with them, but of course, it wasn't enough. At least I got to see everyone and their adorable kids.

John, Jamie, Allie, and Ian

Henry, Yuri, and Trevor

Sing, Maggie, and Fiona

Wendy, Nick, Kaitlyn, and Ethan

Jason, Betty, and Brandon

Talking to Daddy before take-off