mind of chai

About us

The home addition project that began Fall 2015 took a lot longer than we expected. We thought my parents would have moved in by Sept this year but we had only just begun. Delays with the city required persistence & a couple of calls to our city counsellor’s office who was a huge help in moving our project forward.

In June; it was bittersweet with Jaclyn (12) graduating from grade 6, now in middle school & Aaron (5) also having to move to our neighborhood school. His big sis couldn’t walk with him to po po & kung kung’s house anymore after school; the routine of driving to & from my parents house twice a day for 12 yrs has ended (funny, sometimes I kind of miss it).

 

Despite our insane schedule this year, we managed to squeeze a few last minute road trips to Pittsburg, Frankenmuth, Michigan & Ottawa to forget about our daily chores & demands for a more relaxed pace, water & arcade fun & just to appreciate the 4 of us having quality time together.

 

Paul & I are still working at the same companies. Paul transitioned from his comfortable role in Finance to IT Risk Management while my contract at the College has been renewed for another year. A lot of learning for both of us & a nice change too. Unfortunately, both of us are getting wider due to cravings for Popeye’s chicken (more me) & store bought tiramisu (more Paul) but we hope this will be only temporary.

“So this year has been a big change for me…I graduated from elementary school, did my first tap solo and even got a retainer for my mouth! Here’s a little summary of how it went. Anyways, as usual in April I start dance competitions and that’s when I performed my first solo. It was slightly nerve racking but it was definitely fun! It gave me a chance to perform on my own, in my favorite style too. Next is graduation. So my public school years were really fun. I got to meet friends, that’s where I spend 8yrs of my life. In June 2016, I graduated. It was a sad moment but it did teach me that I eventually have to move on & every good thing sometimes comes to an end. The graduation ceremony was honestly really boring. Sitting in a chair & letting parents stare at you…anyways, at least I got the art award that I worked really hard for. Oh and before I start talking about the next thing…before my graduation, I got my very first phone. Anyways MOVING ON TO: the last thing – twin blocks. Twin blocks are 2 pieces of retainer that go inside your mouth to fix your overbite. That’s what I have been wearing for about a month now. There you go! A little summary of my year. Well, at least the interesting parts.”    Jaclyn

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At 5yrs old, Aaron is more vocal, less whiney which is a good thing. He follows in his sister’s footsteps with his interest in art, independence but has also adopted her messiness. I have to thank Lightening McQueen & his car friends for helping Aaron learn how to spell (their names), geography (know which Disney car comes from which country), make creative play, stories, how to draw & make playdoh sculptures. Other things he is very fond of is tape, anything chocolate, friends that also like Lightening McQueen & of course ‘pillow’. He can’t even say he loves his mommy more than ‘pillow’.

It’s been 3mos now that he has been in his new school & liking it more each day. Now it’s encouraging him to be positive & enjoy after school Mandarin Emersion & Kung Fu more.

 

Our year has been an overhaul but we look forward to when our home addition project is finished come March 2017. I look forward to sharing our post-Reno story with you next year.

Sheila