tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31078442009-06-11T09:51:26.724-07:00Kathy & FelixHere today, gone tomorrow...Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06103286846163196371noreply@blogger.comBlogger178125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3107844.post-71837856032897135502009-06-11T08:55:00.000-07:002009-06-11T09:51:26.788-07:00
Like Linus and his blue security blanket, each of my children has a special "lovie" that they've clung to since birth. All the parenting books talk about these sorts of comfort items, providing kids with something to soothe themselves when they're upset or anxious. Of course, not everyone needs one. But my sweeties? They are *all* about comfort.Keira is a fierce thumbsucker, but right hand Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06103286846163196371noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3107844.post-64559354183401641042009-04-15T12:32:00.000-07:002009-04-15T13:21:02.743-07:00For a long time, I thought about getting a tattoo. There were only three problems.First, I have no idea what design I would choose. A unicorn? Heart? Flower? (I know, I know, I'm a total girl...) Trendy Chinese character? Surreal, esoteric design? I still can't imagine something that would stand the test of time and look just as great when I was 18 as it would when I was 80.Second, my parents Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06103286846163196371noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3107844.post-5988682244915883372009-04-12T22:15:00.000-07:002009-04-13T00:29:24.732-07:00For several years, we've spent Easter at Tim and Lisa's. It's become something of a tradition, from a delicious, home-cooked brunch to an exciting egg hunt in the backyard. Watching the kids scamper around together is always so gratifying, not simply because of the happiness I feel in seeing their joy, but because of the love I feel for family.We all know that times are tough; I don't know anyoneKathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06103286846163196371noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3107844.post-9170348161947783602009-02-21T00:41:00.000-08:002009-04-13T00:27:12.658-07:00
For the last ten years (a decade!!!), we have done our annual Whistler ski trip. We ski, we eat tons of food, we play Settlers of Catan, we laugh, and we have an amazing time. It's a tradition.But now the economy is bad. And the dollar is bad. And Whistler...well, it's expensive. So we decided to break from the known (gasp!) and embark on the unknown - Breckenridge, Colorado.The trip got off Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06103286846163196371noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3107844.post-20062859339113767432009-01-31T22:21:00.000-08:002009-01-31T22:30:09.524-08:00Happy Chinese New Year! As many of you already know, Keira is in her first year of kindergarten, and she's been attending a Chinese immersion school -- the International School of the Peninsula -- since September. It's already been an incredible experience in so many different ways, not only for Keira but also for us as parents.Today, the entire school celebrated the new year with a huge Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06103286846163196371noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3107844.post-66231410089888460692009-01-28T23:06:00.000-08:002009-01-31T22:33:14.138-08:00BRYCE!There's this book that Tim and Lisa bought when our niece was going through a tough phase. It offered advice as to how to parent the "spirited toddler". Let's just say that we asked them for the book. Please. Right away.Felix and I have been lucky. Neither of the girls went through a Terrible Two stage. But Bryce? At mealtime, he intentionally overturns his milk on the table and throws Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06103286846163196371noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3107844.post-49746241271836159242008-11-03T15:47:00.000-08:002008-12-06T21:37:20.923-08:00I don't actually remember my last visit back East in the fall. Even when I asked Felix, he wasn't sure; only that it was a "long, long time ago". With the craziness of senior season, I'm lucky if I have time to eat dinner, much less hop on a plane to head out to New Jersey.But this past weekend, despite November 1 being a major early application deadline, I did indeed get on that plane, catching Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06103286846163196371noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3107844.post-83047477730428925222008-10-08T10:40:00.000-07:002008-12-06T21:41:44.280-08:00The mornings are getting foggy and cold again, and I've tucked away the shorts and tees in the closet, replacing them with pants and turtlenecks. We've already had our first rainfall, and the kids wander around in their fleecy pajamas, wondering why the sun sets so quickly. All signs that winter, in its still-strange-to-me California way, is coming.But ahhhhhh, the summer. Don't you just wish youKathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06103286846163196371noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3107844.post-23164557230173076342008-08-22T22:45:00.000-07:002009-04-13T22:09:43.309-07:00There's just something so sweet about a sleeping child. I love sitting down next to our babes as they drift off, eyes growing increasingly droopy...closing...closing...closed. And just as in life, they each fall asleep so differently. Keira is ever peaceful. From birth, she's adored her zzzzz's, and I enjoy watching her snuggle in with her cherished "pb" (pink blanket), pop her thumb in her mouthKathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06103286846163196371noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3107844.post-91179342454454665772008-08-04T10:19:00.000-07:002009-04-13T22:33:19.789-07:00Wow, August is already here! It's crazy to think about, especially given that Keira will start kindergarten at the end of this month. We're sending her to a bilingual Chinese immersion program, which means that 80% of her day will be taught in Mandarin and only 20% will be in English. Needless to say, I'm a little stressed about the whole thing. Not only is my baby starting school (will thereKathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06103286846163196371noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3107844.post-57135967021979176292008-05-06T21:17:00.000-07:002009-04-13T21:22:47.376-07:00Bryce Dakota Lin, a.k.a. Bryce-zilla, a.k.a. Brycee. Our fiery and funny one-and-a-half year old who has no idea that he's only one-and-a-half. Whatever we're up to, he wants to do, too. I love the way he scarfs his food, relishing every bite until his potbelly looks like it's going to burst. I laugh at the way he insists that we leave a little trickle of water running from the bath faucet soKathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06103286846163196371noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3107844.post-35261303952928797262008-04-07T21:31:00.000-07:002009-04-13T21:14:48.106-07:00"I don't love you."I couldn't believe that Keira actually said those words to me."That's the meanest thing you've ever said. Ever."I walked out of the bathroom, keeping a stoic face and going about the rest of my tidying up, while Felix went in to help Keira finish washing her hands. I had reminded her to do so after going potty, thus drawing her unexpected wrath.I heard Felix murmuring to her Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06103286846163196371noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3107844.post-87154393575855726142008-03-31T22:43:00.000-07:002009-04-13T21:00:22.479-07:00I also come from a family of five, and growing up with my two younger brothers was an absolute blast. The memories are countless: cavorting in the back of our station wagon while my mom drove the long trek to Disney World; screaming in hysterical terror, while we shook off the caterpillars that clung to our shirts after we dove into piles of fall leaves; and gleefully slapping the backs of each Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06103286846163196371noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3107844.post-2785028608192247692008-03-31T10:43:00.000-07:002009-04-13T20:57:34.614-07:00Has it already been more than a year since I posted anything on my dusty ol' blog? Sadly true. In fact, it was receiving my annual web hosting bill that reminded me that I was even still out there in cyberspace.So what to do? Well, I paid my bill and resolved to blog more. Hehe. We'll see how that goes.I think the key to keeping me honest is not to put so much pressure on myself. So yes, I'm Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06103286846163196371noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3107844.post-17641353495672401152007-02-02T00:06:00.000-08:002007-02-06T23:17:21.665-08:00I was catching up with two of my childhood best friends the other day, and I finally decided that I'd had enough of feeling overwhelmed. So what if it means staying up until some ungodly hour of the morning? I am going to post an update on my blog and upload pictures!When you check out the pix of "The Kids", however, be forewarned. Just because I was motivated doesn't mean that I wasn't realisticKathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06103286846163196371noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3107844.post-1154670364569938792006-08-03T22:45:00.000-07:002006-08-03T22:46:04.580-07:00Hooray! I updated our pictures and posted everything we have...which is only through the end of 2005, but hey - that's better than nothing, right?Yah for me!Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06103286846163196371noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3107844.post-1154233714512478642006-07-29T20:52:00.000-07:002006-07-31T13:19:17.226-07:00So I'll just cut to the chase, since it's been three months without a peep.Life has been crazy.I'm still a bustling, working mom of two, but in just a handful of weeks, I'll be the bustling, working mom of three. Yes, that's right. Three kids...three girls, to be precise. No, of course it wasn't planned. Do you think I would want to be pregnant again barely a year later with a due date in the Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06103286846163196371noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3107844.post-1145252313369550442006-04-16T22:15:00.000-07:002006-04-16T22:38:33.383-07:00Overall, I think I'm a pretty good mom. I love my kids, I enjoy "rumbling" with them in the yard, I know how to be a strict disciplinarian when I have to, and I am absolutely and unquestionably committed to parenthood.That's why potty-training has been such a nightmare. I find myself snapping at Keira when she has an accident, wanting to tear my hair out when she poops in her underwear again, andKathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06103286846163196371noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3107844.post-1135852404883480672005-12-29T02:05:00.000-08:002005-12-29T02:33:24.896-08:00Life post senior-season...so sweet!It's literally been pedal to the metal these many last weeks, accelerating from "wow, I'm pretty busy right now" speed in November to "geez, I might fall asleep at the wheel if I don't stop reading applications at 3am" in December. And then the magical second Saturday of the month came, and I heartily congratulated my last few straggling students on finishing Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06103286846163196371noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3107844.post-1131000600502086322005-11-02T22:36:00.000-08:002005-11-02T22:51:56.326-08:00Felix and I are standing at the Continental Airlines gate at SFO, anxiously peering for our girls' faces in the crowd. After two and a half weeks of freedom from our babies, who visited Grandma and Grandpa Chi in New Jersey, we eagerly awaited their return.And then I see the stroller. My Keira! My Ellie! I knelt down, shouted their names as they rolled out of the security area, threw my arms openKathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06103286846163196371noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3107844.post-1129006346424140892005-10-10T20:52:00.000-07:002005-10-10T21:52:26.430-07:00No, I haven't died. I've just been buried, under work and two kids. So what's been up with me and the Lins? Well, let's see...No police have been to our door, and the infamous mobile home actually disappeared from our street a couple of months ago. Was it sold? Was it being repaired? Were the owners putt-putting their way across the country? Whatever the reason, sadly, the latter was not it. ThisKathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06103286846163196371noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3107844.post-1121322069726162812005-07-13T22:22:00.000-07:002005-07-13T23:23:55.190-07:00Fourth of July. 10:00pm.Felix came out of our home office yawning. He was tired and just couldn't bear to sit down at the computer to work on his board design. I suggested we go out for a stroll. My mom was in town for the long weekend, could watch the kids (who were sleeping), and a cool night walk would have been nice, given the hot summer days. Felix agreed and piped up that we could use this Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06103286846163196371noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3107844.post-1120199087556662762005-06-30T22:53:00.000-07:002005-06-30T23:24:47.563-07:00Incredibly, it will have been a month next week since Keira's classmate's father was arrested for murder. While I still find that a part of my mind is mulling over the gruesome affair, I also realize that life...simply goes on. I wake up every morning, I work, and I spend time with my girls and Felix.And how are the girls? They're wonderful. Keira has discovered the joys of singing and Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06103286846163196371noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3107844.post-1118298124084909532005-06-08T22:56:00.000-07:002005-06-09T13:39:38.270-07:00What I love about my girls is their unfailing optimism. Some time ago, Felix put it best. Keira must have been about a year or so, and as we watched her toddle around, he pointed out how remarkable kids are. The wondrous way they take everything in, the amazement on their faces as they discover new things...they're just fundamentally happy people and seek out that same happiness all around them. Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06103286846163196371noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3107844.post-1118170254982092542005-06-07T10:58:00.000-07:002005-06-07T11:54:37.860-07:00Most days pass by with the same easy-going feeling. I wake up, feed my girls, drop Keira off at daycare, work-work-work, have dinner with my family, goof around with my girls, kiss them goodnight, and go to bed. The routine has a familiar rhythm to it, that comfy sensation of family and home.Today is Tuesday. 8:00am. I heard Keira's voice over the baby monitor, crawled out of bed to warm up some Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06103286846163196371noreply@blogger.com0