Chengineering 3.8.2020

Elia and Curie were playing with the tall tower and, well, “deconstruction” happened, so we decided to build a mansion out of the two previous towers. The end result is our best work yet, as high as the previous tower, but now on four base plates, with 20 rooms but still one bathroom. Elia wanted to blow it up with a Nerf gun, but we convinced her to keep it up for one night.

Chengineering 3.8.2020 Part 2. The kids wanted to get the train set out and even cleaned a space in the living room voluntarily. So Albert carried up the tracks (the kids brought up the trains – only spilled once) up from the basement. We were tired and wanted to say”no” but how much longer will the kids want to play with trains?

Albert explained to Curie the mechanics of entering and leaving a circle and they got to building. Curie was interested in building, but Elia just wanted to play, so Hero was on the track pulling coal as the”Master of the Railway” and the strongest engine before it was done. Albert, of course, got sucked into building the elevated portion of the track.

When going to bed we asked which was better, building the Lego mansion or the track, Curie said “both,” Elia said “the Lego mansion,” which incidentally still stands on the dining room table. Here’s to cherishing while we can.

Two things, another thank you to Suephy, Ed, Jared, and Dylan for the train set, and you forget how little the girls are until you see them on something like the little couch.

Chengineering February 14, 2020

Erin and the girls won’t let Albert take apart the 6 story tower we built at Christmas (on the left) so it lives with Curie’s Hogwarts clock tower and Lego Friends townhouse to play with. You may know that Albert has been under a bit of stress as of late so he spent a few hours making a 9 story companion piece while the girls slept – it is good therapy for him. The top is a Taj Mahal-ish gazebo, a spinning and turning windmill, a secret room, and a tower. We’ll see if it survives getting furnished tomorrow.
Chengineering February 2020 Part 2. This morning with more decorations, if you look at the right hand picture, you can see the advertisements and some of the new walls. The center and left show the scale next to the old tower, with the Hogwarts clock tower on the left and the Lego Friends townhouse on the right. It is much harder to see all the little playgrounds and things the girls have built around the buildings #nolegomodels #freebuild #timewiththekids

Elia loses a tooth!

Unexpectedly Elia loses a tooth! She is 6 and it is normal, but because Curie was only 5 in kindergarten, it seems so much sooner. Also it wasn’t wiggly and just came out (on Twizzlers). And we think she swallowed it. Curie is going to help Elia write a note to the tooth fairy tonight to explain the situation. Congratulations Elia! (Oh yeah, both girls are wearing Albert’s coat together. They were cold.

Photographer’s Eye: History and Heritage

Topic: History/Heritage. The story goes that I am related to the second baby born on The Mayflower, Peregrine White. BTW Erin’s family was offended when I referred to this as “the boat.” As in “let’s go over to the boat.” BTW it is the Mayflower II a reproduction of the Mayflower. BTW the Plymouth Rock is pretty disappointing.
Topic History/Heritage: An incense urn at my mother’s (and father’s?) ancestral temple in Dajia, Taichung, Taiwan. Jenn Lann Temple also known as Mazu-bo (Mazu temple) which opened in 1730. Mazu is the deified Lin Moniang, who is revered in fishing villages like Dajia as the goddess of the sea.

Elia January 2020

We’re working to get caught up in our blogging. At this time it is May 17, and we are nine blogs behind. We have never been this far, and for history sake we should explain that Albert’s job is in existential concern, and the start of the pandemic has made it hard to keep everything going. In early March Erin fell and got hurt which also lent to just doing the minimum to have enough brain space to get things done. We have not updated our picture gallery since November also, which will have to wait until we get caught up in some writing. The worry is that we keep not remembering because we are always behind. One plan is to write the current blog and catch up slowly on these. We have not started that yet.

Continue reading “Elia January 2020”

Curie December 2019

December seems like a long time ago and we should say that it is in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic as we write this in May. So back in December we had worked out that we would see Erin’s family for Christmas in New Jersey having just seen Albert’s family in Atlanta for Thanksgiving. The idea was to find a place that was equidistant and an easy drive for everyone, including Julie and Steve. In fact we had planned to rent a large car or van to make it easier to drive. Continue reading “Curie December 2019”

NICU 2019

“They say you never want to be in NICU, but you are grateful if you have to be.” Curie and Elia are NICU alums spending 4 days for Curie and 18 days for Elia. We go every year to say thank you and bring chocolates, even though in Labor and Delivery most of the staff has turned over – people like our friend Emma have long moved on. Analise, Ray, and James are still at NICU but we went after 9:00 PM so we didn’t see them. This year the Labor and Delivery nurses were all at the nursing station and asked the kids their ages it was so nice to interact with them, at least one of them remembered us from past years. At NICU, the lady let the kids into the front doors into the foyer and also asked them their ages. For some reason we take a family picture in the security mirrors in the hallway when we go, so here is this year’s – we Chens have a lot of traditions.