Max: “Tacos uh geese…”

Me: (confused)

Mike: (nodding in fake understanding) “Mmmm, tacos and geese!”

Me: “…Um, I like tacos, but I don’t know about geese…”

Max: “Tacos uh geese pease…”

Mike and I share a look that says, “What’s he trying to say?”.

A couple of seconds pass.

Then Mike realizes.

Mike: “Ohhhhh! You want crackers and cheese!”

Max: (thinking to himself) “Yeah, that’s what I said the first time idiots!”

We have many, many moments like this one. I have a feeling we’ll have many more. Poor kid.

+ I wish I could say the sushi I had for lunch yesterday was good, but it wasn’t. That’s what happens when you buy at the grocery store (but it was Kowalskis!).

+ I am finally finished with my paper. It’s due today, and although I think it could be better, I am satisfied with it.

+ Mike’s mom seems to be doing better than last week. Happy to hear that. And thanks everyone for the kind words. We really appreciate it.

+ The grand opening for the new Crate&Barrel is tomorrow, so we’ll be there for sure. I’ve already seen most of their stuff on their website & catalogs, but it’s something different when you see in person. I am seriously thinking about getting a very pt job there just to get the employee discount.

+ Last week, met up Maysee at True Thai on E Franklin and she treated us to their lunch buffet. Although they didn’t have any curry, their chicken wings were really good, and I especially liked their rice noodle stir fry with broccoli. I absolutely love Lao/Thai food so much more than Chinese.

+ Had breakfast with Mitsy yesterday at the Sunnyside Up Cafe on Lyndale. Mitsy recommended their Santa Fe French toast, so that’s what I had. They coat the French toast with some sort of crumbly, corn flake-like bits, so it has a lovely crusty texture when you bite into it.

+ Since I won’t have class for another 2 weeks, I am using my free time to plan Max’s 3rd birthday party. This year I decided to not throw a big party. It’ll just be our families, and a couple of very close friends. And no $100 cake this time either. A lot less stress & planning, so it’ll be a nice.

+ Mike’s mom is still in ICU. Progress is really slow and seems like one day she’s stable, and the next day, she’s not too great. Mike’s Aunt Kathy does a great job updating us on her blog when we’re not able to stop by the hospital. I don’t know what else to say, other than that we are not giving up hope.

+ Always the one to brighten our day, here is Max performing a drum solo. Attention Aunties & Uncles: Even though his birthday is coming up, he does not need a real drum set. Or a dog… Or a cat.

+ I like this song by Colbie Caillat.

+ This month: Spring Break (which probably will be spent doing nothing), Easter, and Max’s 3rd Birthday. I bought an Easter basket for Max already, and I want to give it to him early because I know he would love the little toys I bought him. If there isn’t snow on the ground, maybe we’ll hide eggs in our backyard for him.

+ Not even a week yet, and there’s a pen mark on the sofa. Luckily, the fabric is a micro-suede.

+ Mike & Max are both sick right now, and I’m starting to get a little tingle in my throat.

1 - Our new sofa is here! Finally. Arrived a bit earlier than expected. Dreading the day when Max takes a big, black marker to it. For now, we’ve been hiding the markers/pens, but when he wants to use one, we hover like bees.

2 - It seemed like I churned out hundreds of these cookies, but I think the actual count was around 45. I bought a cookie press and used the recipe from Majorie Johnson’s Blue Ribbon cookbook that my inlaws got me for Xmas. These are one of the hubby’s favorite cookies, so he was eating them like chips. Max didn’t care for them; probably didn’t have enough sugar.

3 - We stopped by the Capital for my sister Jaime’s art show. I had to take a picture of the ceiling in the rotunda. So beautiful.

Btw, what would be a reasonable price to ask for this? I’m thinking of selling it on Craigslist. It’s made of rubberwood, and there are some scratches here & there, but it’s pretty decent, I think.

+ Guess what? I got an A on my paper! Yep, really happy about that. Out of about 17 people, only two people got A’s, two got B’s, and the rest got C’s.

+ Watch a bunch of movies in that last month (with the one I liked best first): King of Kong: Fistful of Quarters, The Lives of Others, Juno, I Am Legend, Jumper.

+ Every week, I drive by the new Crate&Barrel site, and patiently wait for them to finish construction. The place looks HUGE. I am going to be one of those people waiting in line when they open their doors. Can’t wait!

+ Also, guess who else is going to be moving in down the street from C&B this fall? West Elm AND The Container Store. So many great furnishing stores. Love it.

+ Still waiting for our sofa. They called us last week, and said that it was going to take another couple more weeks because the people making the sofa were having a difficult time getting our fabric from their vendor. Aiyaiyai. Sick of hanging out in our basement. As least the centipedes/millipedes are hibernating. For now.

+ We had dinner at Brasa tonight. I heard good things about this place, but I was kind of disappointed overall. The chicken & pork was pretty dry, and the corn bread was even more dry. It was hard to swallow. Too bad.

Have a good weekend everyone!

Thanks everyone for the kind words about Mike’s mom. It’s kind of hard to see her with all these tubes & machines hooked up to her, so I wonder what Max thinks when he sees her. Kids are so innocent, and sometimes are oblivious to all the machines & tubes. He just thinks that “Nana go night night”. Anyway, hoping for some good news.

Speaking of mothers, I cry every time I see Kanye’s tribute to his mother at the Grammys.

Funny story about Max:
Max saw a box of donuts sitting on the kitchen counter, and he ran to get his little stool. Mike told Max that he could look, but he couldn’t touch. So Mike & I pretended to walk away, leaving Max alone with the donuts. We were watching him the whole time, and at first he would just stare at the donuts. Then he put his finger on the see-through plastic window on the box. Just barely touching. At this time, I really thought he was going to help himself to a donut. But he surprised us by pushing the box back, and then saying to himself, “No touch,” and wagging his finger at the same time. I couldn’t help but giggle. Too cute, huh? Later, I walked by the donuts, and he reminded me that, “No touch, Mommy.”

I’ve been trying to videotape Max as much as I can because he is so talkative now. He’s doing the cutest things ever, not that he wasn’t cute before, but now that he is able to communicate better, he’s saying the funniest things and always making goofy & adorable faces. I just can’t believe how much his speech has developed in last couple of weeks.

How cute is that new show, Ni Hao Kai Lan? We haven’t really watch full episodes, but just saw snippets of it. Max seems to like it, and thank goodness it’s not as annoying as Dora.

The second paper for my class is analyzing a magazine ad, part of tv show, or commercial. I have something picked out, and I’m actually looking forward to it. Maybe I’ll post my first draft on here, and ask you guys to critique it for me.

+ Mike’s mom recently had surgery, and her recovery is not going well. She had to go back into surgery a second time due to some complications, which was not expected at all. We are really worried about her, and hoping that she gets better soon.

+ Happy Valentine’s Day, I guess. Yes I agree, V-Day is overrated, but I got something from the hubby. He bought me a beautiful orchid, and I bought him & Max a big box of donuts with tons of sprinkles. But really, it’s not a big deal at our house.

+ Turned in my first paper of the semester last night. I worked on it up until the last minute. I hate that. It was a personal narrative essay, and I was thinking about posting it up, but I don’t know. I have to ask some people for their permission first.

+ Guess what? I peeked at the Project Runway Finale pictures. Some of the designers surprised me with their collection. Can’t wait to see who wins.

+ I finally got bought the pan & the ingredients, and made some takoyaki the other day. Good stuff. Click here to see.

+ Max has been incredibly talkative lately. He loves saying no to almost every question we ask. I’ll have to post up a video of him.

+ Happy Birthday to my little brother Tou Fong. He turned 22 this year.

Click on image for larger viewWe celebrated our anniversary at La Belle Vie tonight. We both had their 5 course tasting menu. Everything you’ve read about this place is true. Service was exceptional, and the food was amazing. The sauces were rich & strong, but that was fine with us. Pretty much everything was cooked to perfection. Max behaved well. Poor kid wouldn’t nap earlier, so he was really tired throughout dinner. Thank goodness we brought his favorite books & toys to keep him occupied. Dinner was a little over 2 hours long. They also offered an 8 course dinner which would’ve lasted 3 hours probably. I would definitely go back here, but only for special occasions. The decor wasn’t a lot of fussy decorations, but a couple of nice abstract paintings here & there. Only fancy things were the big, opulent crystal chandeliers. Oh, and the crown molding was really elaborate.Anyway, would definitely go back for a special occasion. Have a good weekend everyone!

+ Finally got a chance to blog. It has been super cold here. Don’t want to go anywhere or do anything outside. Especially with Max because I don’t like the thought of him being cold. Looks like this weekend will be in the 20s. Yessss…+ Tried some new restaurants:

• Town Talk Diner: I liked this place. They gave us free food just because my pancakes were taking a little long. Some yummy seared scallops, and a cheese & cracker appetizer platter. Our waiter was really nice too. Only thing I didn’t really like was that it was kind of loud.
• Ngon Bistro: This place is really cute & the food was actually decent. The decor was nice–creamy yellow walls, beautiful lighting, and local artwork hanging throughout the dining area. I had the ribeye & meatball pho, and Mike had the fish special. He didn’t care much for his dish, but I liked mine. I especially liked the homemade beef meatballs. They were so tender & flavorful compared to the frozen meatball that every other place uses. I would definitely go back.
• Obento-Ya: (pictured above) I really wanted to like this place, but the food just wasn’t all that. I had the shrimp tempura bento box, and Mike had the beef. We shared a spider roll. The spider roll was bland and didn’t have much else to it. My food was just, eh… The hubby only got 2 pieces of good meat, so he was disappointed with that. The decor is modern & nice, and service was good, but food is nothing to write home about.

+ Max has been so picky with his food lately. Won’t even eat his eggs. I hid some pureed cauliflower in his eggs one time, but he wouldn’t touch them. You could hardly tell there was cauliflower in it. Man, I am just running out of ideas. Help…

+ Today is our 13 year anniversary. Happy Anniversary Honey!

+ We traded our Accord for a 2008 Mercedes C300 Sport 4Matic. In black, just like the pic. I let the hubby pick it out, but I get to drive it. We like it a lot & the heated seats are really useful right now. So cold!

+ First day of class this week. I kind of regret taking a night class, but oh well. What’s done is done. The professor seems pretty cool & laid back. I feel bad for her because her mom just passed away last week. I’m sure the last thing she wants to do is come to work. I would be a wreck.

+ Nancy & Hong are in town this weekend. Love having them over.

+ Since Max is getting bigger, we no longer need a big stroller, so I’ve been looking around for a smaller, lightweight stroller. So far, this one is the only I like. Not only is it stylish, it’s the perfect size & it has a small compartment under to store things, unlike a lot of umbrella strollers.

+ I have been sick these last several days. Cough, runny nose & achy body. And my chest hurts a little too. Sucks… But I think the worst is over. Poor Max got sick too. Hope he gets over it soon.

+ I finally enrolled Max in tumbling classes. First day of class is Monday, so I hope he likes it.

+ Watching Project Runway right now. My faves are Christian & Romi. Christian is such a hoot.

Have a great weekend folks and stay warm!