More Funny Sayings

Yesterday, CJ was helping me make Italian sandwiches.
Me: CJ, do you want to help me put some greens on this sandwich?
CJ: But mama, you're putting purples on your sandwich, too!
(because my box of greens had green and purple leaves)

CJ: Mama, what's a deadline?
Me: It's when you promise to do something by a certain date.
CJ: I wish I had a deadline.

Me: CJ, you need to put away your tracks so the cleaning lady can come and clean.
CJ: Why, is it every other Tuesday today?

Thomas Movies on YouTube

If you've met CJ, you know that he loves Thomas the Tank Engine.  He has several types of trains (battery-powered, take alongs and lead alongs), books, CDs, DVDs, and clothing.  CJ prefers Thomas episodes over any other show.  I don't mind because the episodes are short, they are easy to follow, and they always have life lessons.  When I need CJ to behave, I tell him that I need him to be a "really useful big boy" and that almost always works. :-)

We have an Apple TV, which lets us surf YouTube on our large screen TV.  For fun one day, we searched for Thomas and boy were we surprised to find thousands (yes, thousands) of Thomas movies.  People rip episodes and put them online.  I'm surprised they stay up coz some of them are really good quality and are clearly illegal uploads.  Here's Percy's Seaside Trip.

Other people take the original shows and dub them with their own voices, or use their own trains but use the original narrator.  There are even episodes created using Microsoft train simulator - here's Thomas visits the Main Line.

Yet other people create their own original Thomas episodes.  And some of them are really good!  Here's a cute original - Thomas wants to pull the Christmas tree.  This kid obviously has a large collection and room to setup the tracks!

What all this means is an endless supply of Thomas episodes for CJ.  He knows how to use the remote to get on AppleTV and navigate around.  He even knows how to spell Thomas and can do his own searches -- I was stunned when he did this for the first time a couple of months ago.  Just shows to show you what a kid is capable of when motivated.

We Love Our Wii Fit!

For my birthday this year, I asked Maki for a Wii fit.  Well, that was easier said than done because there is a waiting list for the Wii fit.  We finally picked up one in early August and we've been enjoying it ever since.

The Wii fit is another ingenious addition to the Wii family.  It's a piece of hardware that connects wirelessly to your Wii.  You stand on it and I guess it sends signals to the Wii about your movements based on the distribution of weight on your legs.  It acts like your personal trainer:

• It records your weight and body mass index (BMI).
• Based on a series of tests, it calculates your Wii age.
• A personal trainer (person on screen) shows you how to do yoga exercises.
• You can do balance, strength and aerobic exercises.

The Wii fit also tracks your progress against goals, records each day's activities, and tells you how long you've exercised.  The Wii fit is a little sassy.  When we haven't used it in a while, it gives us sarcastic messages like, "I see you haven't exercise in 8 days.  Exercising every day is important to reaching your goals" or something like that.  It even makes your Mii (avatar) chubbier when your BMI is above normal (obnoxious and hilarious).  My BMI was normal, but my Wii age is awful because I need to work on my balance.

Surprisingly, CJ loves the yoga exercises.  He is able to follow the instructor's move and do the poses.  He will even do balancing poses just for fun!  Maki likes the balance exercises (like Table Tilt and Slalom) while I like balance (Table Tilt) and aerobics (I LOVE Super Hula Hoop!).  For $200, this is a fun gadget and if we end up getting a little more exercise as a result, that's just gravy.

First Day of Pre-K

Big milestone this week. On Wednesday, CJ started 5-day pre-K.  This is a big deal for the entire family.  For CJ, it's the start of school every day, a normal school year, school for nine months out of the year.  For me and Maki, it means we have to be organized and disciplined every day so that we can all be ready and out the door in time.

What a difference a year makes.  Last year, going to school was scary and both CJ and I were anxious as we approached the classroom.  This year, we made a calendar and counted down the days until the first day of school.  CJ made me write "first day of school" on September 10, and "not yet school" on September 9.  We talked about school, we gave each other kissing hands, and CJ picked out his own clothes.

The morning of the first day, CJ got up on time, got dressed on his own, ate breakfast by himself, and we left the house early.  For the first week, the school asks parents to drop off and pick up in the classroom; in a week or two, we will be able to drop off and pick up at the curb.  CJ greeted his teacher (whom he had met during summer camp), he greeted the kids as they entered the classroom, and he happily hugged classmates from last year (there are 3).  He did ask me why I couldn't stay and why I had to go to work, but I made a graceful exit with a big hug and a kiss, and no tears (on my part or his).

When I came to pick him up, the kids were on the rug while the teacher told a story.  The kids all looked happy and relaxed.  Chatty CJ is less than talkative about school, but I hope to hear about the details of each day as the weeks go on.

During dropoff on the second day, I went to say good-bye and CJ, without even looking up at me from whatever activity he was engaged in said, "bye, mom."  I'm so proud of him!

More Funny Sayings

Here are the latest from CJ.

CJ: Mama, let me listen to your heart beep.

CJ: Mama, my pulse sounds like a drum. Your pulse sounds like a trumpet.

CJ: Mama, if California is farther away, is Virginia closer away?

Mama: CJ, what was your favorite part of the trip to New York?
CJ: My favorite part of the trip (to New York) was the museums. But my most, most, most, most, most favorite part was the food.

CJ: Mama, why do you have to go to work today, so you can buy me new buffers and sushi and Pocky?
Mama: Yes.

The Ride Home or Why I Love Amtrak (Again!)

Once again, my love of train travel is reinforced. We left our hotel at 8:52am, arrived at Penn Station at 9:02am, and had plenty of time to spare to catch our 9:35am train. The train left right on time and we enjoyed great views of the mid-Atlantic. I especially love it when we cross the Susquehanna River.

I’ve decided that unless I am pressed for time, the Northeast Regional is the train to take in the future. It’s not as crowded as the Acela, there is more legroom, and it’s less expensive. Yes, it does take 35-45 more time, but in the grand scheme of things, that’s no time at all. And since there is AC power in every row, I can work, or CJ can watch a movie.

Waterfalls of New York

The raison d’être of the trip is the New York Waterfalls by Danish artist Olafur Eliasson. My mom read about the waterfall exhibit and invited the rest of the family to join her in seeing them. We got our tickets for a Circle Line boat tour months in advance.

Our Saturday boat ride was canceled because of Hurricane Hannah, but thank goodness they let us reschedule for Sunday, since we were all leaving Monday morning.

The boat ride is the same old boat ride you can book normally, but it’s extra special for a few months because of the waterfalls. There are 4 waterfalls in the East River and New York Harbor:

• Under the Brooklyn Bridge (on the Brooklyn Anchorage on the Brooklyn side, facing Manhattan)
• Between Brooklyn's piers 4 and 5 (west of the Brooklyn Heights Promenade, facing Manhattan)
• Pier 35 in Manhattan (adjacent to South Street at Rutgers Street -north of the Manhattan Bridge, facing the Bridge)
• Governors Island (on the north shore, facing Manhattan)

The waterfalls were certainly worth seeing., but it was the overall experience that was the highlight. After Hurricane Hannah, Sunday was a glorious day, with blue skies and low humidity. We had clear views of the Manhattan skyline, the status of Liberty, Ellis Island, and Wall Street. If you like boat rides, this is one worth doing.

Yes, You Can Take a 4-Year Old to Museums

Whenever we go on a trip, and certainly around Washington, we visit museums and take CJ with us. Maki and I love museums (Maki joined us in NYC on Saturday afternoon) and we figure CJ will love museums if we get him started early.

On Saturday morning, mom, Alex, CJ and I visited the Museum of Natural History. The dioramas filled with stuffed animals from Africa were lifelike and very well done. CJ loved looking for the baby animals and guessing the names of the animals. We all enjoyed the dinosaur exhibit, as well as the reptile exhibit. I wish the exhibit had more hands-on elements, or even some interactive kiosks, but otherwise, no complaints. We need to watch Night at the Museum, the Ben Stiller comedy set in this museum.

On Sunday morning, we all made the mandatory visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Alex says he has spent many, long days at this museum, especially when he was living in New York. We started our visit the Egypt collection, culminating, of course, at the Temple of Dendur, my favorite spot in the museum. Then we visited the armor collection, including a special exhibition on Tibetan armor. Then we wandered into musical instruments, and then dashed through European history. We also enjoyed a Jeff Koons exhibit on the roof of the museum featuring three sculptures; the most fun was a stainless steel sculpture that looks just like a dog balloon!

CJ obviously can’t read the descriptions and can’t sit through long explanations, but he enjoys looking at everything, commenting on what he sees, and looking at the varied items. Next time, we will have to catch the Children’s Museum, which we hear is terrific and fun for kids.

A Weekend of Yummy Asian Meals + Amazing Doughnuts

I come from a family of eaters. Growing up, birthdays and celebrations were nearly always celebrated with dinner at a nice restaurant, the family favorite being sushi. This trip to New York felt like a gastronomic tour of Asia’s greatest hits. Following recommendations from Fodors.com (my favorite online travel resource), we visited, in this order:

Nha Trang, a Vietnamese restaurant in Chinatown. This is Alex’s favorite restaurant in New York City. I was blown away by the hot and sour shrimp soup and the shrimp with salt and pepper sauce. Best of all, dinner for 5 was a mere $70 and you should have seen how much food we ordered!

Cendrillon in SoHo, my favorite Filipino fusion restaurant in the world. Despite Hurricane Hannah, which slammed into New York on Saturday afternoon, the restaurant was full by 8pm. Romy, the chef, does an amazing job and greets every table personally. I loved the mussels, the laksa noodles, lamb shank and kare kare (Filipino stew made with peanut butter, oxtail, tripe and vegetables). For dessert, we adored the passion fruit crème brulee, the bibingka, and champorado (sweet, sticky, chocolate rice porridge, what's not to love?).

Momofuku, a ramen noodle joint on the Lower East side. Momofuku serves fresh, Japanese style ramen noodles. The menu is limited, and unless you don’t like pork, order the pork steam buns and the pork ramen, which are superior to their chicken counterparts. Service was a little snotty. And since the restaurant does not take reservations, it’s best to arrived before 6pm. We got there at 5:45pm; the place was packed by 6:15pm on a Sunday. We've had better ramen on the streets of Tokyo, but good ramen places are rare in the US; to date, we have found none in the DC area.

Doughnut Plant in the Lower East side. I heard about this little doughnut place on Food Network, when Bobby Flay challenged Doughnut Plant owner, Mark Israel to a throwdown. Mark Israel’s doughnuts won hands down and I knew we had to make a pilgrimage. The $20 cab ride was worth it. If you go, order the tres leches doughnut, a cakelike doughnut that is out of this world. CJ loved the chocolate doughnut.

New York, Here We Come or Why I Love Amtrak

Last Friday morning, CJ and I went up to New York on Amtrak. I love Amtrak. Maki dropped us off around 9:00am for a 9:25am departure and we still had time to pick up breakfast at McDonald’s and make a bathroom stop before boarding the train.

Family and friends know that CJ is crazy about trains, so it was a real treat for him to ride the train up to New York. We even ran into our friends Debbie and Bert, and their son Max, so we had company for part of the ride. CJ played Go Fish! with Max, he watched a couple of Thomas movies on the PSP (Playstation Portable), and we paid a visit to the café car for some lunch.

Catching a cab was a breeze because it was the middle of the day, so we got to our hotel, Club Quarters in midtown, in no time.

This trip to New York is a mini-vacation before CJ starts school on Wednesday, as well as a family trip. We met my mom, older sister and brother in New York; they flew in from San Francisco. The impetus for the trip was the waterfall exhibit by Danish artist Olafur Eliasson, who created waterfalls from four locations in the East River and New York Harbor (more on that later when I post about our boat ride on the river.

CJ Loves the Pool

The pool in our neighborhood is closing. For me, it’s always a sign that summer is over, the days are getting shorter and we didn’t do half as much as I had hoped. Oh well, we made it to a couple of county fairs, we went to Costa Rica, we hung out with friends – I guess I can’t complain.

Here’s a great photo of CJ jumping into the pool last weekend. With his Spiderman vest on, CJ is fearless. And check out the huge smile and perfectly balanced arms. When it comes to the water, CJ is definitely my son. I’m going to have to look into swimming lessons at community center or the local Y.

Adventures at the Mall

On Saturday, Maki, CJ and I went to the mall. I just had to share some of the funny things that CJ said.

On approaching Nordstrom, CJ was trying to read the store name.
CJ: Mom, are we going to Netherlands?
Mom: Netherlands? No, we're going to Norstrom.
CJ: No, we're going to Netherlands.

On leaving the Verizon store, where they sell Crocs carrying cases for phones.
CJ: Mom, this isn't a phone store, it's a Crocs store!

As we went from floor to floor.
CJ: Mom, I want to take the excavator.
Mom: You mean the elevator or the escalator?
CJ: No, the excavator!

As we approached EVERY mall directory.
CJ: Stop, I want to look at the map. You are here. We're here, mom! (pointing to the red "you are here" dot on each map)