Not the happiest Day

The kids had a doctor's appointment today for their annual check up.
Five immunization shots. Ten in all.
I went alone with them.
I think you can picture what happened. Not only did the one getting the shots cried, the other one would cry, too. They are twins, remember?
I felt like crying myself. In fact, right in the middle of it all, I told the nurse I needed a break. Please leave the room for a minute, I said (I was surprised she heard me in the midst of tearful wails). The three of us needed to catch a breath. For crying outloud - please stop hurting my children! I didn't actually say that one outloud.

Thank goodness that tomorrow is another day!

Art Show

We have been creative around here, and would like to show you some of the art work produced by our own four year old children! (Isn't Claire cute in Momo's shirt? She refused it at first, but it was out of neccessity).

If you had been following this blog all along, you may remember from last year some drawings done by Momo. He started at an early age (about two), with the interest and stamina. Now it looks like he is trying to master cubism of some sort. Meanwhile, Claire has grown exponentially in her artistic skills. She is now drawing self portraits, bears, houses, and ships! Although not shown here, they are able to write their names and do some simple spellings, too. Maybe four is different than three...

Here are the master pieces:

Our family, with our house and tree - by Claire

Momo and Claire - by Claire

Ship and captain at sea - by Claire

The artist at work

The Sydney Opera House, with chimneys! - by Momo

Fish (Tilapia) in Tank - by Momo

Apartment building, complete with stairs, patios, and door - by Momo

Ship at sea - by Momo

Winter Flora

I had a leisurely morning; it felt deserved after all the festivities yesterday!

Will you be surprised to hear that the kids are no different now (that they are four) than the day before (when they were three)? There is a saying in Thai that age is really just a number.

So I took a leisurely walk to go pick up the kids from school. It was windy, but warm. The warmth made me miss all the days we spent on the farm this summer, and all the plant life that surrounded us (and of course, our former home in California). It will be a long time before spring returns to New England.

Meanwhile, I will savor whatever I can - even if it's dried up berries or frozen roses, or even the ubiquitous decorative cabbages. The pink bike has its own appeal though, doesn't it?

Four Years

First day out of the womb.


First Year.


Second Year.


Third Year.


How full the four years have been!

We have traveled overseas 3 times.
We have lived in 3 houses.
We have moved twice.
They have been to three schools.
They have had many friends and teachers.
They have a lot more adventures to come.

The one thing that has not changed since the day they were born: they do love each other. And we hope that will be the constant throughout their lives!

Happy Birthday Momo and Claire! We love you!

Birthday Eve

"It's your last day of being three year olds," I told the kids today.
"Why, Mommy?" they asked. (Why must they ask why about everything? Why?)
"Time is linear, my friends," I replied.

And yet, in some ways, I wish they were not going to be four years old tomorrow!

We hung out in and around Harvard yard this morning. There is so much history here. Jim and I went to schools here (well, Jim did, I went to summer school here), we met here, and we made future plans together here. We even walked by the church on Harvard Street where I went to nursery school when I was four myself. We tried to point that out to the kids. Of course it didn't mean much to them. But to us, it was rather poignant.

Though time is linear, we can physically return to the same places where we once lived, and made memories. Perhaps someday our children will come back here with their own children, and share their own history with them - right here where a whole lot of history was made in and outside of our family.

Thanksgiving

We were supposed to go to Brooklyn for Thanksgiving, but our family is currently running a course of a tenacious coughing virus. We feel bad enough at home, and didn't want to burden our friends. So here it was, our first Thanksgiving by ourselves (if you don't count the germs).

It wasn't half bad, however. We had a lovely day, actually. It started with a walk into Harvard Square, a snack at a coffee shop, a home-made Thanksgiving lunch (turkey and all), and a visit to Walden Pond. It was so warm this afternoon that the kids were giddy with delight!

As for the Vespa, its bright and happy color made the otherwise gray morning, rather cheery.

Front Page

The Lincoln Journal was kind to publish my Thanksgiving article on their front page! I know it's a small paper, relatively. Still, I am honored and happy that I could go from being an acupuncturist to a freelance writer in a few months time. Thanks, Mom and Dad, for the genes, and everyone else for the support!

First Snow

I have yet seen the kids since it started to snow. I made sure to call the school to tell them to show this first snow fall to our Californian kids!

Here are just a few photos of, I am sure, many more snow falls to come. It sure is quaint, and somehow much better than rain.

Providence

We had a quick get away to Providence, Rhode Island. Jim was at a conference, and the kids and I met up with him last night. Only an hour away from Cambridge, but it really felt like we were in a different place all together. People seemed much friendlier there: some actually smiled and said hello to us on the street. That doesn't happen here.


The one place I really wanted to visit in Providence was the Farmstead Cheese shop. Similar to Formaggio Kitchen of Cambridge, Farmstead was abundant with endless kinds of cheeses from all over the world. I had been reading about it since we were living in California, so it was a treat to actually go there in person, and eat cheese and bread from this infamous, up-and-coming institution.

The kids were patient with me as I indulged in the whole (very small) atmosphere. Thankfully, we found a playground near by for them to run around with their poofy coats and red cheeks.

Chocolate!

Yesterday was cheese. Today was chocolate. Can life get any better than this?

I am in my early stages of learning about TAZA, the local artisenal chocolate factory in Somerville, Mass. Conveniently, they are in the same facility as Lourdes, the cheesemaker. Yesterday as I was wrapping up the cheese story, I went over to chat with the chocolate people. They were very kind to talk to me even though they had loads and loads of chocolate to wrap up. Can I come help you sometimes, I inquired. Of course, they said. How about tomorrow, I asked.

Today is yesterday's tomorrow. I found my way back to the factory literally with my nose (one of those generic confusing buildings that is very easy to get lost in). Teresa gracefully prepared a little wrapping lesson for me. Who would have known that there is a certain way to wrap a bar of chocolate? It took me a few tries to get used to it, but I was still quite slow compared to my mentor. Before I knew it, though, I completed two boxes of TAZA 60% chocolate, 20 bars in all! And I got to take one home to share with you know who!

My adventures have just begun!

Cheese!

I am starting to see the fun of being a writer. A food writer, no less. Part of the 'job' is to go to the source; to talk to the people, to taste the product, to see the whole process. I am beginning to enjoy this!

Today, I met with Lourdes, the mozzerella cheese lady. She was in the middle of making her handmade fresh mozzarella cheese this morning when I entered the building. I don't know why, but I had never watched cheese being made in front of me before. Perhaps it has to do with growing up in Thailand where nobody eats cheese... But anyhow, here I was, watching the whole process from start to finish, with big eyes, and big ears, trying to take it all in. I am glad I had a recorder so that I didn't have to write down all the information as Lourdes was talking. It was very enjoyable to take it all in uninterrupted at first.

I will be writing an article about it, so I am not going to delve into the whole story here. You will just have to wait! All I can say is that the product tasted just as divine as it looked here!

Squashes

Nutty and sweet, how can one not like squashes? Growing up in Thailand, I loved eating the boiled sweet potatoes, and taro roots from the street vendors. They would still be warm, sometimes it was hard to wait for them to cool down enough to dip into a small pouch of sugar. How I wish I could transport myself there to that time, and bring the children with me. I try to cook a lot of squashes here now that they are in season (and they can sit around for a long time). Butternut, acorn, cinderella, sweet dumpling, speghetti, winter, cheese, you name it, there is a squash out there for everyone. Plus they are so pretty and fun to look at!