Finding trivial happiness in life

Easy Recipe | Apple pie

noreply@blogger.com (SusanZ) — Wed, 30 Jul 2014 20:19:00 +0000

While brainstorming what's for breakfast, I stumbled upon this apple pie recipe. This recipe is as easy as 1-2-3. With freshly picked apples from backyard and a leftover pie crust, within an hour, the delicious apple pie was served on table. Hubby gave very high appraisal to it and ate several scoopful. I only wish the kids can like the pie more.

{I feel grateful for having apples freshly picked from our own backyard.}

Simple fun: flying boomerang

noreply@blogger.com (SusanZ) — Tue, 29 Jul 2014 21:06:00 +0000

Eric was flying a paper boomerang at a nearby park in above pictures. He learned to make this wonderful boomerang from Youtube, step by step by himself, and only at some complicated point, he needed a little help from me.

Throw, watch the boomerang twisting and turning in the air, expect it to fly back, and do the best to catch it when it does fly back...These acts bring Eric hearty laughter. He can spend hours repeating these acts with pure joy.

He's currently into origami -- all kinds of paper airplanes and paper boomerang. And his paper airplanes can fly far away, more than 20 feet.

It is amazing how easy and cheap the fun is -- all the material a kid need is a piece of paper (Eric always grab recycled paper to fold his works.) .

Botanic garden

noreply@blogger.com (SusanZ) — Sat, 26 Jul 2014 00:01:00 +0000

This Friday Eric's summer school organized a family short trip to a nearby Arboretum. I have heard before that this botanical garden is beautiful but we have never been there. Taking this opportunity, the whole family went together. We all had great fun there. The scenery is absolutely pleasing with lakes and small waterfalls; various trees and shrubs; ducks,turtles, and even tadpoles. Although the weather is very hot, in the 80's, the garden has plenty of shades of trees and keep us cool.

What a pleasant surprise to find these little waterfalls inside an arboretum. These waterfalls are tiny and tricklets compared to splendid ones. However, they surely give you a peaceful feeling of idyllic settings.

...Ducks,turtles, and even tadpoles. Duck is Daisy's most favorite animal at the moment. Eric was very excited to see turtles and tadpoles, and he made sure that I took a photo for the turtles.

The place we live is called Orange County. Orange trees are seen everywhere, almost from every backyard, and it is of course no exceptional to be found in this beautiful botanic garden.

The teacher told kids that bamboo new shoots grow straightly and vertically into a culm without any branching out until its mature height is reached. In Chinese culture, bamboo symbolizes integrity and uprightness. That's why people use bamboo to describe gentleman.

Eric and his friend was climbing up a man-made hill. This hill has a tunnel underneath. Did you peek the little hat on the left? That's Daisy exploring the tunnel.

The school arranged several activities for the summer school kids. They played high with great interest and excitement. While standing aside observing, Daisy admired the bigger kids very much. We then gave her a hola-hoop. She took it and practiced in real earnest.

Snow day

noreply@blogger.com (SusanZ) — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 06:07:00 +0000

I am trying to catch up with the blog posts. Gege and daddy went to snow mountain on new year's day. Ah, that's long time ago already. They went there with other parents and kids from the church. Meimei and I didn't go. From the picture, I can tell that gege had a good time there.

A good day

noreply@blogger.com (SusanZ) — Sun, 23 Dec 2012 08:17:00 +0000

Eric:"Mom, I have such a good day today."
Me:"Because we went to the park?"
Eric:"And also because we are going to the Bible study group tonight."
Me:"Do you like the Bible study group?"
Eric:"Yes. I like it very much."
We haven't participate in the Bible study group for several months since Daisy was born. No-time was always the excuse. Now Daisy is five months old, we decided that it's time to resume our Bible study. :-)

Here are some photos we took in the park.

P.S., Today Daisy called Eric Ge Ge (which means Brother in Chinese.) She pronounced it clearly and the sound was very loud too. It happened when Daisy was sitting in her chair, watching Daddy and Eric having their lunch. We were so pleasantly surprised. Actually this is the second time that Daisy called Ge Ge. The first time was about two weeks ago. Ge Ge is the first word that Daisy ever spoke out. :-)

Stroll

noreply@blogger.com (SusanZ) — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 10:00:00 +0000

We did a little outing during the weekend. The sunlight was warm but not very strong. A typical comfortable afternoon of the fall. Perfect for a little walk in the neighborhood.

Daddy and son. Love them.

Birthday party fun

noreply@blogger.com (SusanZ) — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 10:00:00 +0000

Jesse, Eric's friend from the Church, turned four on the weekend. We went to Jesse's birthday party on Sunday.

The party theme is Spiderman. Jesse was dressed in Spiderman costume. The cupcakes and goodies bags are all decorated with Spiderman icon. Very cute.

Several activities were also arranged for the kids, including pizza dinner, swing, climbing tree (only interested Eric :-)), and blow bubbles. Super fun. Eric had a blast. When it's time to get home, Eric was so reluctant to go that he shouted, "I am not tired." :-)

Eric has been longing for climbing trees for a long time. At the friend's backyard there is a small tree which is perfect for Eric to horn his climbing skills. Eric didn't miss the chance and he played with the tree for a long time :-)

Favorite recipes: Banana Bread

noreply@blogger.com (SusanZ) — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 10:00:00 +0000

I seldom make bread because in my impression, to make a bread requires a lot of cooking skills, and only a veteran can handle it properly. However, this banana bread recipe changes my opinion. It is easy to follow. I did once and the result is very satisfactory, which highly boosts my confidence regarding cooking :-)

I adapt this banana bread's recipe here just in case you are interested.

Ingredients

1 cup granulated sugar
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 large eggs
3 ripe bananas
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter a 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan.
Cream the sugar and butter in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
In a small bowl, mash the bananas with a fork. Mix in the milk and cinnamon. In another bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Add the banana mixture to the creamed mixture and stir until combined. Add dry ingredients, mixing just until flour disappears.
Pour batter into prepared pan and bake 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Set aside to cool on a rack for 15 minutes. Remove bread from pan, invert onto rack and cool completely before slicing.

A girl should be two things: classy and fabulous -- Coco Chanel

noreply@blogger.com (SusanZ) — Mon, 08 Oct 2012 15:00:00 +0000

"A girl should be two things: classy and fabulous."
"Fashion fades, only style remains the same."
"Elegance is not the prerogative of those who have just escaped from adolescence, but of those who have already taken possession of their future."
-- Coco Chanel

How to grow old gracefully is a topic most ladies concern. Evelyn has wonderful collective ideas in her latest article.

Parenting: OK, let's play

noreply@blogger.com (SusanZ) — Mon, 08 Oct 2012 10:00:00 +0000

The other day, during a casual talk, I told Eric that when daddy was at his age, daddy could read books all day long, and was very interested in math. Secretly, I had two purposes to say this: 1. to motivate Eric to ; 2. to set up the Husband's brilliant image in Eric's mind.

Eric's response was totally beyond my expectation. He asked,"did he know how to play?" For a moment, I didn't know how to answer. To be honest, I was deeply impressed by a four-year-old's pointed remarks. It hits the nail on the head.

"All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy." This is a familiar saying. I am Chinese. But I am not a tiger mother by any means. However, sometimes I become very pressured and tend to be kind of pushy, especially when I knew several friends' three-year-old kids have already begun piano and swimming classes. I definitely need a clear reminder (like the one from Eric's reply) to make me recognize that play is still preschoolers' main job.

Eric is climbing up a tree :-)

We plan to give Eric more time to play, at least for the time before he attends elementary school. After all, play is the path that young children take to learn. Learn though play will be more fun.

Food for thought

noreply@blogger.com (SusanZ) — Sat, 06 Oct 2012 10:00:00 +0000

I read this awesome food for thought via Simple marriage.

Random moments of the week

noreply@blogger.com (SusanZ) — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 17:17:00 +0000

1. It's a bit of chilly at night, so I gave Eric a blanket to keep him warm during sleep. The blanket is cheery orange color and there's a huge Mickey picture printed on it. Eric loves it. On the first sight, he exclaimed,"oh, it's so fancy!"

2. Eric's toy shelf has turned into book shelf, because he is "a big boy" now and he is more interested in reading.

3. Daisy is concentrating on her toy hanging overhead. Look at her eyes, I think they can talk :-)

4. When I feed Daisy, I am obsessed with her chubby hands and feet. Look at her toes, so juicy!

5. Eric will attend his friend Jesse's birthday party this weekend. Eric and I work together to do the birthday card.

6. My reading buddy. With Kindle on hand, I found reading is so much easier (or so less excuses of not reading). This year I have read a lot more books, feeling very literate :-)

Meet Daisy

noreply@blogger.com (SusanZ) — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 15:01:00 +0000

Daisy is an almost-three-months-old little darling.
This little one's main daily tasks now are eating and sleeping. However, she has a clear craving for communication.

She loves to talk...with her own coo language. If I respond her back with the same coo coo sound, she will be very happy, always paying me a sweet smile, a smile that can easily melt my heart.

When I speak to her, she stares at my mouth intensively. It is obvious that she wants to observe how my mouth moves and curves so she can imitate to let out the same sound.

She is very curious. Sometimes during her cry, if I turn on a light or walk to another room, she will forget about crying and rove her eyes around trying to find out what's going on.

Dear Daisy, I love you!

Meet Eric

noreply@blogger.com (SusanZ) — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 14:47:00 +0000

Eric is a cute, smart, playful, and easy-going four-year-old. He is our dearest sweetheart.

Eric is very easy-going. At day care or at church, he has a lot of friends and gets along well with all the other kids. The teacher appraised him that Eric is so understanding and sympathetic that he never lets anyone down or feel upset.

Eric loves to draw. Whenever he has a pen and paper on hand, he will draw. His most favorite drawing is train and tracks. All kinds of trains and different shapes of tracks.

Eric is a gourmet, meaning that he is very picky at eating. Variety and flavor are the most important for his little tummy, which constantly challenges my cooking skills. The good thing is that he loves to drink milk with honey,

Dear Eric, I love you!

Crispy morning

noreply@blogger.com (SusanZ) — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 19:44:00 +0000

In this crispy October morning, after pumping and feeding the baby, the baby went back to sleep. All the other family members still remained in bed. It was quiet and peaceful. The time was all mine. I so cherished the moment out of my daily mama-hood chore. So with my camera, I went out for a small walk in the neighborhood. The air was crispy with a slight chill, which made me all refreshed up.

The Sun had come out. The sunshine was soft and orange. The Moon still hanged in the sky. Hey, Moon, do you love the beautiful morning too?

Two early birds were standing on the wire. I was wondering what they were whispering about.

Hello, sunshine!