Wild Times at Taipan

"Are you Yeti to party?"  


There was a change in plans (the noodle place had an impromptu vacation day) and we ended up at Taipan.  It remains a greasy spoon despite all the upscale renos. 

Go wild!  

Kevin tells me he and his friends had ramen and karaoke on the weekend for his birthday. Sure!  Sounds like fun (if not wild). 

James stole the show, spitting out a decent "Happy Birday", and then play eat with Celina.

It was a pretty tame and early night for a party.  But it was a Tuesday. 

I was happy, though they, Kevin and Veronica, technically "ditched us" for dessert.  Now that sounds like the right thing for a birthday. 

Things / words James learned / worked on: 

- Bui Gaw, Yee Jerng, Jai-jai (for Veronica) 

- Foods: hor-fun (flat rice noodles), gnow lam (beef brisket), dow-fu (tofu), cauli-fler (cauliflower)

(Above: What a spread!  But oh so greasy.)

Paul's Thirty-FORE!

Paul seemed happy.

The Highlands Golf Club treated us well.  The view was stunning, the food was delicious (and they were able to accommodate our diets and allergies).  Amanda the server was great.   And so many friends... what else can you ask for?

Well, Scott wished for a crying photo (crazy man), but James seemed to like him (with some initial suspicion, see right).

Actually, I think James had a blast.  Erik ran him around the room!  So exciting!  Then tried to teach him to count -- so exciting!  Oh, and then punched him in the face -- which James was kind of blase about (because it was staged -- photos below).

So much attention and lots of activity.  I suspect we're normally too boring for him.

The other little one at the party, Aidan, also seemed to have a good time running around.  He had a mitten rattan (which Paul coveted).  By the end of the night he showed some sings of slowing down, and even gave James a kiss (so sweet!).


It was a very official birthday: Kathy helped us notorise - what ever it is - James's middle name affidavit.  (Note to others: Have all the names ready when you register the first time, else, so much paperwork!)

People said I looked great, but I didn't feel that way.  Oh, well.

Catalina: Oh, it must be hard work.

Some sad news: Serena -- Catherine's dog -- had to be put down Friday.

There was still light when we walked home, but Jasmine's mosquito netting was really handy.

One... two... three... four...


Pow!  Pow!

Matching bow ties!

It's all over?  

Ah, there's next year...

To Blue Orchid and Back!

We took our first bus trip!

Olivia and TipTip's birthday celebration was in the perfect location: Just one bus away.  So, we packed the stroller and set off to Blue Orchid.

What a hot day.  We arrived to find the air conditioning wasn't working.  I felt a hot sweaty mess, but James had the option on stripping down to his onsie.

Monica and TipTip seemed to have a good time bouncing James around.  But Wendy, Lorena, and Olivia kept their distance.

Wendy: He's not looking at me, I'm not going to play with him.

Ugh, eating was so awkward.  I originally planned on just ordering plain white rice and something separate from the menu, but people wanted to be nice and said, "Oh, just make sure they don't use MSG in any of the dishes..." It likely made everyone's meal less nice.  And, I ended up sticking just to white rice and some chicken that didn't touch the soy sauce (since I just wasn't sure).  And no cake :(

Wendy said I didn't look very cheerful.  I told her I was just so tired.  It was hard to follow the conversation around the table. Even out of my arms, my focus was drawn to James.

The other part, of course, is that leaving the house is a bit a headache even with Paul there to help.  I'm appreciating ramps a lot more and have to think twice about where the stroller can go.  And, it turns out, not all washrooms have a fold down change table!  Thankfully there was a enough counter space near the sink, and James was good enough (this time) not to roll.

Things learned:  Need to pack 2 outfits at least.  (Yep, he messed up both.) 

These beautiful cakes are from T&T.  They say the taro (on the right) was better than the chestnut.

















And wow, downtown sure looks different.

Fathers' Day!

Be kind to thy father, for when thou were young, Who loved thee so fondly as he? He caught the first accents that fell from thy tongue, And joined in thy innocent glee. 

~Margaret Courtney

It's Father's Day!

It's a good day for some flying...



... and comparing / taking stock. (below: When did James's head get bigger than Paul's fist?!)

A little quiet time in the morning to celebrate Paul.  And then it was to celebrate my Dad, "the big Daddy" (/ diva) with dim sum at Marco Polo.  (Though, Paul does like dim sum a lot, so it was kind of for him too...) 

Annoyingly, Dad always chooses Marco Polo, and almost always complains about the food. (So what if it's on the second floor -- a pun being "a level better than the rest" if you don't actually like it?). 

Anyway, Father's day for me is again about family getting together and hanging out... which we managed a little at their place after dinner.

James couldn't keep his eyes off Kevin. (Does he recognise this is another boy / like him? Or is because of what he's wearing?)

Everyone was so smiley!  Even Carl, who lit up when he saw James (though James wasn't so happy about it).  Was he this cheerful with his kids?  I can't even remember.

Yep, it was a long day with a lot of activity and noise... but a pretty good one. 

Below right: James fell asleep sitting up. 

It's a date! (Part II)

Paul and I went on a date! 

We had sushi -- "The Love Boat". 

From our seats we could see the boat being prepared, and we watched it float to the table.





It was delicious.  Though, since I had to stay away from the soy sauce, I learned there is such thing as too much wasabi.  (A pain like brain freeze.)

We've tried Love Boats at different restaurants, but this was the first at Mikado.  There were definitely some interesting / unexpected pieces -- I don't think I've ever eaten raw shrimp... and was that squid? This one probably had a little too many pieces that neither of us were keen on. 
 
Anyway, eating was still fairly easy.  The hard part was what to talk about. 

I had lots of James things on my mind (too many probably), but anything else... um... But, luckily,  Paul seemed pretty happy to be just out of the house and eating at a restaurant.  


It did feel good to have some quiet time. But it was also awkward... (how do we do this again?)  (Mixed feelings too on eating out and changing out of my default uniform -- a stained t-shirt -- that was functional and comfortable, but hardly self esteem building.) And, it also felt pretty good to get back home.  Jackie and James were, of course, fine.