Christmas Eve

I'm obviously skipping ahead here with my postings a bit since I have not finished my postings for our trip to MN.  There's so many photos I want to share!  So, in the meantime - I'm going to get our Christmas postings in first before the New Year.  Can't believe it's already New Year's eve tomorrow!

Graham and Charlie were supposed to build this Crystal Tree kit with their cousins in Minnesota but looks like the kit just got a free ride to MN and back.  Ha!

 

Charlie got tired of asking me what's for breakfast so he decided to make his own breakfast - scrambled eggs with english muffin:

Not too shabby for doing it all by himself! And that includes turning the gas stove on and off too:

I asked Charlie to make me one too but it didn't happen.  Hmm... looks like these kids need more training on listening to their mother.  Ha!

Our next project for the day was making kefir.  This is Graham's project since he is the only one in this household that drinks it:

Strange looking kefir grains but I guess we'll follow along and see how it goes:

I figured that maybe putting it on top of the heater might help it ferment faster:

It doesn't seem to be the case, so into the kitchen cabinet it goes!

In the meantime, we are opening up the new 2021 ornament that our friend just gave us.  So pretty!!

And so fragile!  This one was last years.  Amazing how Swarovski makes these:

We have (salt) crystals on our mini Christmas tree!

The boys keep wanting to play computer games but I managed to convince Graham to finish up one of his projects from last Christmas:

So looks like this project is going to take Graham another year.  Ha ha!  In the meantime, time for Mommy to make some bread.  I haven't done this in ages. Using fresh jar of yeast and also bread flour instead this time.  Let's see how it turns out:

I've been setting the dough on the electric heater and it's been helping it rise really well.  I'm going to try this bread holder instead of a bread pan:

Not too shabby!

Crust is nice and firm and the moment of truth... soft and fluffy on the inside.  Yay!

Okay, moving on to the next project for the day.  Our friend that bought us the pretty ornament - she really loves to  arrange flowers. So I figured I'd buy her some fresh flowers:

And who knew, she already had a whole bunch of flowers ready to be arranged at her home!

Here's my first ever flower arrangement to bring home.  So sweet!

By the way, it's been raining so much here these last few days.  Look how these big trees have fallen.  Oh now!

I really need to figure out how to make the bread non-stick on this bread holder:

And also need to figure out how to keep this dining table clean and clear of stuff.  This will do for now for the flowers/centerpiece, once Graham clears up his project off the table:

Phew, now it's time for Graham and Charlie to bake Santa some cookies:

Looking pretty good!  We bought a cookie mix from a local kid that was selling them this holiday season.  Proceeds will be used to buying toys for less fortunate kids.  Isn't that so sweet? 

Hey look!  Graham can finally raise his arms all the way up!  It's been about a month now since his fall/broken collar bone:

Checking up on our kefir.  Ooohh.., looks like it's thickening a bit:

What a day so far!  Finally sitting down for Christmas eve dinner.  We are having mahi-mahi tonight.  There's no real tradition for us here.  Perhaps time to start one.  I'm glad the boys are eating the fish:

There is the tradition of the boys giving gifts to each other and opening it up the day before Christmas:

I had the boys make each other something using clay this year.  I hope they appreciate these gifts from each other.  And then, they got to open one other present - this one is from us (Bobby technically) to Graham and Charlie:

Looks like the microscope is a hit!

I was doing some laundry tonight and look what I spotted outside - clouds that look like a poodle??! Ha ha, I must be going mad after a long day.  LOL!!!

Time to wrap up the presents from "Santa" and also put out the cookies.  Charlie wrote a really cute note.  It says, "Ni hao! (that's hello in Chinese). Thank you for the presents and bringing joy to kids like us!"  Awww, isn't that sweet:

I am beat! And I wonder how many parents are gnawing on the "reindeer" carrots in the middle of the night while wrapping presents.  Ha ha ha!!!

So much for not buying too much this year.  When will we ever learn??!  Merry almost Christmas everyone!

Graham's follow-up ~ Collarbone

Graham and I took another trip to the orthopedic today.  This place still amazes me... so massive and super efficient! We were about 20 minutes early for our appointment and yet, they were able to get our x-rays in almost immediately after checking in.  I didn't even get a chance to finish the paperwork yet!  And wow, what a machine!

Can you see how the bone is healing? The callus is finally building up around the broken bone (left).  The x-ray to the right was taken 4 weeks ago:

The doctor was also very quick with her explanation once she popped by into our curtained room.  Graham doesn't need his clavicle brace anyway (I bet he was probably so happy to hear that! Although we may use it to improve Charlie's posture!).  And she also specifically said, "No man stuff... no jumping, no running, no scootering..." She blasted off about 2 or 3 more No's I but I couldn't keep up. LOL!!

Well, another follow up in 4 weeks and still no PE for another 4 weeks. While we were close to downtown, we decided to venture out a bit.  We could have gone to the Science or Natural History Museum, but that would have been unfair to Charlie since he was left at home with Daddy.  So we found a bakery on the USC campus.  Pretty cool so far!

And we found the café. Oh My GOSH!!  Are you kidding me??!

It's probably a good thing Charlie wasn't with us.  He would have wanted to buy one of each of these donuts!!

Well, we went with an apple donut (Graham LOVES apples) and Oreo donut for Charlie, and also a couple of these familiar "roti" or bread in Malay.  We used to have something similar to these when we lived in Abu Dhabi.  Definitely brought back some good memories.  Just wish these were baked to order but look at the size of these things.  Sheesh! As big as Graham's hands:

We find a nice spot to sit outside. Shoooo, you silly pigeon!!

There's a statue of Helen of Troy near where we're sitting.  I didn't know it at first.  Thank goodness for the internet :-)

Graham is wasting no time tucking into his apple filled donut.  By the way, I only got one bite out of it and even had to ask for it.  There didn't seem a chance he was going to willingly share it.  Ha ha!

What a neat spot on campus.  There is even a Target and Trader Joe's supermarket here!

Graham is already deciding that he is going to school here.  Ha!

Well, looks like we will be coming back this way in 4 weeks again for those donuts - after the 3rd follow-up session :-)

Charlie's tooth

Charlie's upper right canine is finally out!  I suppose being the nagging Mom - constantly reminding him to wiggle it - finally did the trick.  Ha!

I'm glad no one in this household is passing out from the sight of blood:

I wonder how many more of these letters I still have to write.  Or perhaps I will start missing these moments once my boys become grown ups!

And actually, the adult canine is already halfway out so I'm glad he was able to finally pull the baby one out by himself. 

These canines are suppose to be out between the ages 10-12, so a tad early.  Hopefully he will take care of his adult teeth.  He is still quite terrible at brushing and flossing.  What is it with the kids these days? I don't ever remember being defiant like that when I was a kid :-P

Adventures in Downtown Minneapolis

Our first day in downtown Minneapolis!  What shall we do today? Well, Daddy has already left for this interview this morning. It's not too far but it's also very cold outside. Can't believe he didn't even wear his thick jacket.  Should I really be sorry for him??!

Charlie is actually logging into class this morning. And Graham is suppose to be doing some homework but I'm not sure if he really is.  This is probably why he's facing the other way and not really letting me see what he's doing on his computer:

Looks like the boys are having dried cereal for breakfast and I've made some oatmeal for myself.  Thank goodness for the little area in the lobby that sells snacks and stuff.  And oh, no spoon so I'm eating my oatmeal with a fork.  Ha ha!

The view from our hotel room.  Looks nice and sunny at least for today:

We're going to be dressing in layers today:

After a quick delay with a bloody nose (Charlie's), we are finally ready to do a little walking to the river.  Oh, who knew the Mississippi river was all the way up here!

But first, boys are so excited to play with some leftover snow!  Just had to keep reminding them about "yellow snow":

So I thought it was just a quick Par 5... 20 minutes was what the map on my phone said.  Well, at least there were some cool things to see along the way:

Charlie's cheeks are getting so rosy from the cold:

We finally get to the Mill City Museum.  This is where General Mills got its start.  We only have 30 minutes since the Museum closes at 4pm.  This whole jacket on and jacket off thing is taking some time, especially when the boys have a tough time figuring out how to actually hang their jackets.  Guess they are having a tough time figuring out where the sleeves are vs the hoodie:

This outside portion of the museum actually blew open from a massive explosion!

What a view from up here:

Who knew flour dust could be dangerous.  This are what these machines are - huge dust vacuums to keep the dust intact:

Momma and her boys on their adventure :-)

Crazy to think this flour mill and/or brand name has been around for so many years. Since 1866!!

A lovely view by the Stone Arch Bridge.  It used to be a railroad track:

One last photo before leaving and meeting up Daddy for dinner:

Someone is sneaking around my back and throwing snowballs at me!

There's so much history along this street - flour and wool.  Although this old building is now senior housing/apartments:

Look how cute these little things are:

These were right in front of the Court House.  Just discovered that these are called "Rockman" by an artist named Tom Otterness (1999):

Graham and Charlie enjoyed roaming around this area, although all the grassy mounds are covered in tarps:

And across the street is the City Hall:

This building is massive and rock solid!!

Graham says it's like a building that belongs in a Harry Potter movie.  Ha ha!

The boys are tired and taking a quick break, while watching the light rail go by:

Okay, so it wasn't quite the Par 5 that I had expected.  Maybe under more normal circumstances... i.e. no snow and normal clothing, it would only take 20 minutes to get from our hotel to this other end of the city.  Quick photo op under some lit trees:

We are taking more breaks in between.  This time in the Minneapolis Tribune building. Ahhh.. nice and warm inside:

What a big globe!

And I told Graham and Charlie about these heaters by the bus stops... and look what happened:

Maybe Graham's beanie is too small??? But what a mess with his hair!

Another chance to get under another heat lamp at a bus stop.  Ha!

We meet up with Daddy at a fancy steak restaurant.  Are you kidding me about the sizes of these steaks??! Yikes!!

Bacon like we have never ever seen before!!

No crab cakes but lobster cakes instead.  Fancy stuff!

Check out this piece of steak!  Our leftovers actually fed our family and my sister and my brother-in-law a couple of days later:

What a meal! 

Charlie is finally learning how to use the fork and steak knife properly:

Graham is still falling asleep after dinners at restaurants.  I'm sure I have another photo of him like this somewhere else:

Oh... my... goodness!! Do you see the size of this chocolate cake??!

Graham and Charlie are being so silly.  Ha ha!

Thank goodness we have a little walk to digest our big meal.  Check out this awesome piano piece mural.  Woah!!

And looks like the boys told Daddy about their "heating stations" along the way.  And of course, Daddy didn't bring his big jacket again so he was obviously happy to stop:

Fun first day in downtown Minneapolis!  Stay tuned for Day 2 :-D