Just My Rambling

Just wanted to wish all my readers in US a very HAPPY THANKSGIVING!! Enjoy your turkey dinner!! Anyone planning to camp out for the Black Friday sale?? When I lived in Florida, it was easy to go shopping at 6 am but now in the Pacific Northwest, it is just TOO COLD!! It is 34F as I am writing this. It will probably be the same on Black Friday and I am definitely not going to be standing in line in that freezing weather.

Yup, it’s gingerbread house time again. After having so much fun with last year’s gingerbread house, Lil’ C wanted to make another one this year. So I got this kit for $9.99 at Costco.

Lil’ C having fun putting it all together. Unlike last year where she wanted to eat the candies, this year she was the one who reminded me that the candies are not for eating but for making the gingerbread house. : )

Ta-da….the finished product now proudly sitting on top of my fireplace mantel.

These past few weeks, I have been taking a lot of photos of birthday parties and kids. It seems like we have been going to birthday parties, including Lil’ C’s, almost every weekend. However, I haven’t been able to find the time to download the photos to my laptop yet. I have also been using up all my memory cards. Looks like it might be a good time to stock up some flash memory during the Black Friday sale. Usually they are very cheap during the sale.

It has been a while since we last went on vacation. We were thinking of taking advantage of this holiday weekend to go on a short vacation. Gas prices are really low right now, so it will be a great time to take a road trip. I guess I’d better start looking for a hotel room before they are fully booked. Hopefully I will be able to get a hotel room with sleep number bed. They are usually harder to find but it’s always worth the effort.

Besides trying to catch up on all my work, I have been also been checking out all the Black Friday deals. Usually there are lots of great deals during the Black Friday but with this dismal economy, I wonder if the sale will be as good this year as the previous years. I don’t really have anything specific to buy this year but it will be great if I can find some great deals on camera accessories.

After spending most of the last 2 weeks holed-up in the kitchen with the birthday stuff, I will have to spend the next 3 days trying to catch-up with everything else that has been pending. Why 3 days? Because Thursday is Thanksgiving and it will be another busy 4-day holiday filled with travel plans, food & friends. So I have to try to clear all my pending assignments, my work, some school stuff etc by Wednesday, else I won’t be able to enjoy my holidays!!

As a mom to a preschooler, I am always on a lookout for fun educational toys. So I was very glad when I was given the opportunity to review the Toddler Tote by Lauri. The Toddler Tote comes with 3 animal-shaped puzzles, 4 mini and 1 large geometric-shaped puzzles, 2 mini pegboards and 7 Tall-Stacker pegs. The puzzles are all made from crepe rubber and washable. It also comes with its own 9” carrying case complete with a handle, thus making it easier for my little girl to carry with her all over the house. It is also great for travelling.

My little girl loves the bright and bold colors of all the pieces. She likes the puzzles but her favorite are the Tall-Stacker pegs.

If you are looking for a gift for toddlers this Christmas, this is a great gift. It helps to develop their fine motor skills while teaching them about colors and shapes. The best part is that if any of the pieces are missing which happens very often with toddlers, Lauri will replace them!! The Toddler Tote is currently available at MNC toys.

and I am exhausted. It was a great little party and most importantly, Lil’ C had a lot of fun with her friends. The party started off really calm but after the birthday cake and pinata, it got a little chaotic. Must be all the sugar rush from the cake & candies!! Hehe…. Luckily there’s no school or activities this week due to Thanksgiving. So we can mope at home and clean up all the party mess. : )

Lil’ C has been taking piano class for a few months already. Originally I never intended for her to start piano so early but it so happens that my neighbor is a piano teacher. She wanted to start a preschool piano group class and needed some guinea pigs. So that’s how she got started on piano classes.

I remember when I was young & took piano classes, I didn’t like them very much. Piano classes were also boring to me. There’s also the dreaded piano exams. So I quit after a while. A fact that I regret sometimes. Well, at least I know if Lil’ C ever quits piano, it will not be for the same reason as mine because they have NO piano exams here!! They just learn whatever they want. Right now C is loving her classes. She has since graduated from preschool piano group class to private class. With the private class, every month they have a little recital among younger kids. This was taken last month at her very first mini piano recital.

In preparation for Lil’ C’s birthday party, I have been spending a lot of time in the kitchen experimenting with various cakes. Every year I try to bake a special cake for her, so it usually involves lots of testing and baking before I get it right. I really love all this baking but I am also glad that it only happens once a year. If I have to do this more than once, I will probably need to find the best diet pill available because all this baking and testing is really making me gain weight!