Tatiana's Wanderings

Jon said he'd be home this afternoon since Harmony would be going to a school meeting, but I could still come by if I wanted. The last time I was around when she went to a meeting, Beckett was quite upset! I went anyway, of course. After COFFEE TIME, I went out at 3:15 on a 407 to help with the kids. Since I'd just missed a 3 at Marine Drive, I went into Tim Horton's to see if they had those new Dream Doughnuts: no Strawberry Confetti, but yes to Dulce de Leche and Chocolate Truffle. They didn't look that great relative to the ads, but nothing ever does!

I had to wait for six rings before Harmony answered the buzzer, but that was fine. A few minutes later, I told Beckett that I would be right with him after I washed my hands... Wet Wipes only do so much against sticky doughnut crumbs! Harmony said "yes, please - thank you!" Hey, I've heard about the coronavirus too, and so has Ayler, apparently. He says he heard on the news today that the BC patient is in Burnaby ("so not here in Vancouver, but close"), while Hiero wondered what we'd do if Beckett died from it. You can get very sick and possibly die, we told them, but Harmony kept it simple and said that she'd keep them safe and we should all wash our hands.

Ayler and Hiero thought it was funny to encourage Beckett to go to the printer, and also to take Beckett's balls away from him, but he got way more upset over this than Harmony leaving for her meeting. ("MINE!" followed by lots of crying) I was there to give him hugs and a small kiss, telling them that it wasn't funny. Jon did come home a little earlier than 6, and took over dinner duties. Beckett called the Pho noodles "noo-noo," and called the treads on Grandma Joan's slipper socks "boh-boh" - very funny! Ayler asked about school, of course, and wanted me to listen to his piano. Beckett said "help" to me a lot (and wanted me to help put on the yellow "sunglasses" that were missing a lens - Hiero said they were pirate sunglasses), said "bye bye" to me a lot (maybe when I was walking to my bag and then to my coat so he could see the fur and buttons - but I didn't leave), and walked over to show Jon various things like his blocks.

Later, Beckett went to the window to see the "boh-boh" outside and point at all the lights. He also used the blue ruler to "hide" and wanted me to do the same with his toy balls - I just pretended to most of the time. Then he said "HIT YOUR BUTT!" in Cantonese - Uncle Joe taught him that one because it's funny to hear a little toddler say so! Hiero made a "lightsaber" out of a plastic sticker sheet, and a "gun" out of the magnetic rods and balls, and wanted me to say "gun" - I don't know about that one. He also 'teleported" into me, which was NOT fun!

Ayler took out his red-and-yellow stuffed dragon toy... he remembered that I'd given it to him! Beckett seemed to like it as per Hiero - he even said a very close approximation of "dragon" and grinned when he showed it to me! I should tell him that Auntie is a dragon, haha! He also said "monkey" for his stacking blocks, "dog" for his dog book, and "apple" for the Creation story with Adam and Eve in the children's Bible stories book. He's LEARNING VOCABULARY plus CONTEXT! I left at 7:40 (not at 7:30, thereby missing my window of time to get the 7:42 Marine Drive Station bus with the heavy bag of stuff from Mom and Dad) after waiting a few minutes for Jon to finish something while it was the bedtime routine, but not before Hiero called me a "blah blah person" - RUDE AND DISRESPECTFUL! I got home at 9:10 on a 407, having to finish a text message to Paulo first.


Random stuff from Mom and Dad: A thin brown Mondi sweater with yellow diamonds, a thin brown Mondi sweater VEST with yellow diamonds, a random white undershirt with an actual bra built in it in a clean produce bag, Ragu Tomato and Basil light pasta sauce which expires in October 2021, more Ontrue green tea roasted seaweed x3, and more toiletries inside a Ziploc bag...

Two plastic shower caps, Kandesn Spa shampoo by Sunrider, a white scrunchie only suitable for a toddler, a Paul Mitchell refreshing citrus facial bar, three Q-Tips inside some plastic, a useless LONDON DRUGS blue circle thing, 40 mL of Agraria San Francisco lemon verbena conditioner, blue Chateau de Chine shampoo, 24 mL of Crabtree and Evelyn lavender verbena shampoo, 24 mL of Crabtree and Evelyn lavender verbena conditioner, Princess Cruises Lotus Spa aloe vera moisturizing lip balm x2, a black toothbrush with a toothbrush cover, 22 mL of Ognnx Lacoupe argan oil complex shampoo x3, and 22 mL of Lacoupe argan oil complex conditioner x2.

A silver Gem hand ground nail clipper, another unbranded silver nail clipper with a nail file, Smart Shield serious sun protection aloe vera lip balm, four more Q-Tips and four makeup wipes inside some plastic (do people use Q-Tips to apply makeup?), a white hairbrush / comb in one, a blue microwavable eye mask with instructions inside plastic, a white Dr. Fresh Turbo Power battery-powered toothbrush with a free Duracell battery, and a small Princess Cruises Lotus Spa linen mist bottle.

50 mL of L'Occitane verbena shower gel, a LaRoche Posay Nutritic lip balm (47 mL), 22 mL of Be Better macadamia nut shampoo, three more Q-Tips and three cotton balls inside some plastic, sampler Oral-B floss from the dentist, a tiny yellow tube of Vichy SPF 45 sheer lotion with Bare Skin Feel, 2 grams of Super Dry Superior Dessicant with a warning on it (??), Chinese Glyso-Derm lip balm with Vitamin E, 50 mL of Crabtree and Evelyn iris bath and shower gel, a 5 mL Avène Canada soothing moisture mask in a tiny tube, 22 mL of Nourish Green Tea hydrating conditioner, and a white travel toothbrush inside a green plastic cover.


Hunt's Snack Pack: Banana Cream Pie pudding cups!




NEW from Tim Horton's: Dream Doughnuts! Chocolate Truffle, Strawberry Confetti, and Dulce de Leche!




Tim Horton's Dream Doughnuts: They didn't have Strawberry Confetti, so I ordered Chocolate Truffle and Dulce De Leche instead.




RIP, Don't Argue pizzeria...




Beef stew with carrots and Pho noodles!




Red and yellow dragon stuffed toy! I gave it to Ayler originally because he is also a BABY DRAGON, but now Beckett likes it too. He knows the word "dragon," and grinned when he told me what it was!




Tomato and Basil light Ragu pasta sauce!

It's Friday the 13th today!

Mom and Dad wanted to come by today to pick up the "remnants" of the broken Heys suitcase - good thing I found the broken handle INSIDE said luggage before they came by this morning at 10:50 AM, since I thought I'd lost it when it wasn't anywhere on the floor nearby! Dad thought I needed to wash my hair since I wore the old Alaska sweatshirt with dandruff on it - uh, I was chilling at home and didn't need to shower till LATER! Apparently, Mom had to use the bathroom even after going at Dr. Ruby's (and apparently didn't wash her hands at my place - GROSS!) - REALLY?! She also gave me a couple of medium candy canes for the boys in a produce bag (plus chocolate almonds for me in another produce bag), but I was happy to keep them for myself since Harmony didn't want the boys to have too much sugar. Yeah, good luck with that one...

After DOUBLE COFFEE TIME and SHOWER TIME, I went out at 3 on an 401 to help with the kids. Harmony gave me some Children's Hospital Christmas cards with white envelopes, so YAY FOR THAT! I also got a card and stickers from Julie in today's mail, plus a surprising card and stickers from Janina, who deactivated her Facebook profile AGAIN a while ago. That was nice of her, though! Rishu wanted to call me anyway since I "couldn't" make it in to the boonies of Richmond, but was so late about it that I should have just taken a shower at 1 instead of 11:45! Hurry up and wait - UGH!

Got to kill a bit of time at Marine Drive Station, but just spent it online near the statue where I could get a wifi signal from Dublin Crossing pub, and got to Harmony's at about 4:30. She'd warned me about being quiet since Beckett was actually napping, and I said I'd be there soonish. The bus HAD to stop for two minutes at 41st, and then ran into rainy-day traffic crap at 20th or so... I'd rather be safe than in an accident, though! When I got in, the boys were reading a Mercy the Pig book, which I had to finish because Harmony had to tend to Beckett and the lasagna at the same time.

I read a few pages of CHINOOK CHRISTMAS - way too advanced for Ayler! - before I decided just to play with Beckett, who had just come out and was loopy. He gave me a bunch of toy balls and emotion eggs, wouldn't respond "yeah" to my questions for a bit, and just stared at me for a while. Later, he did warm up (I got a hug!) and "read" the 100 Words book, saying something that vaguely sounded like "what's that?" and pointing at a picture. Of course he knew where the balls were, but also called a kid's head a "boh-boh," which Hiero found hilarious! "HAHAHA, he called it a BALL!"

We had the aforementioned lasagna with kale and ricotta, cherry tomatoes, and grapes for dinner. Beckett was only slightly interested in this dinner, but at least did not upend his tray on the table this time. He cried and was upset, only smiling when he saw the Vitamin D bottle. No, of course we wouldn't let him overdose on them. "NA NA NA!" he said about the Rice Krispies - he also seemed to like the Advent Calendar chocolate halves that he was allowed. Beckett said ATTIE to me, so YAY! He liked giving me emotion eggs, rolling some balls, playing with the shells, trying to fit the stacking blocks together ("Na na na!" he'd say when he wanted me to take it out), and finding the balloons on the stacking blocks AND the "Christmas tree ornaments" in the boys' room. Then he was also more receptive to saying "yeah" to my questions and even grabbing some rolled balls himself. At least the baby pop-up toy still made him laugh, so YAY!

When Harmony was out of the room (having told me about location settings on my phone photos for everyone's privacy reasons - which I figured out later at the bus stop), I asked Ayler what he really thought of screen time at school. He smiled and said he liked it because "it's the opposite of what my mom wants." HAHAHA, nice! Hiero said that he knows what the "other" meaning of PEE-PEE is, and was busy giving "presents" to his mom of random toys in egg cartons and boxes. Beckett repeated some words like "wow" and "after" when he heard us say them, with "MOMMY! BECKETT SAID WOW!" as a reaction from Hiero.

Myles dropped by at 8 (when the kids were still up), only to have Ayler accuse him: "Cou-fu is stealing our lasagna!" HAHAHAHA! No, Jon just made a couple of mega-batches! Myles also managed to fix the printer, which Beckett had somehow managed to knock offline. We talked briefly and side-hugged; while Harmony was preoccupied, Ayler said he had a question for me, but I had to come over and look at the computer keyboard. Sure, why not? He just wanted to know about the very top row of Function keys - at least he knows to ask me, because his parents probably won't answer! Beckett said "Cou-fu" and "Attie" for Myles' video, which was cute. Later on at 8:30, Harmony finally let me go - I was surprised when I was home at 9:30! I did say bye to Beckett, giving him a high-five and showing him that big gold "boh-boh" at Richmond Centre. They don't need me on Tuesday because of the kids' Christmas concert, so that's just more time to do some stuff before my trip!


From Julie: When you find some weave on the road, so you make a Snowquesha! HAHAHAHAHA!




From Julie M. and her local news: Noema Alavez Perez is the mother of the missing Dulce Maria Alavez?! Her name is pronounced No-Emma, she's 19, and has a five-year-old and a three-year-old and was going to have another kid soon as of September 2019?! SHE WAS 14 AS A FIRST-TIME MOM?!




Children's Hospital Christmas cards: Let It Snow snowman and a Holiday Greetings reindeer!




( More Christmas cards and stickers! )

It's Dictionary Day today!


From Dragons and Sandra Boynton: Silly dictionary definition - a dragon is NOT imaginary!




From Julie M. and Wish: A living steampunk dragon necklace!




From Julie M. and Wish: A fantasy dragon axe knife sword dagger!

I called Barry at 8:35 AM to tell him about the mouse on the glue trap which I discovered last night. When he came by at 11:15, he said that it was STILL MOVING! We both heard it squeak, so I wanted him to just take it out of here as fast as possible. I left for Jon's at 2:40 today after DOUBLE COFFEE TIME (stopping by Kam Do Bakery for a BBQ pork bun) with the Paqui Haunted Ghost Pepper chips, Ragusa Noir chocolate bar, heart-shaped Ferrero Rocher chocolates, Harmony's early birthday card, and the Alter Eco Burnt Caramel / Salt and Malt / Blackout / Brown Butter chocolate bars. (she thanked me for it later - Jon said his face would melt off with all those chips!) I had to wait a few minutes for them to get home from school, and Ayler immediately wanted to show me his "100 Days of School" pasta craft and something else. He's definitely learning to write and to draw flowers!

They played with toy trains, read Robert Munsch and other books, ate hummus / banana bread / seashell pasta (they could NOT have my white wine or spicy green sauce with white beans), discussed his field trip to the Orpheum to see a symphony and STAR WARS, and Ayler showed me his school break schedule to ask about the dates and what they meant. I think Ayler can read simple words on his own now, which is great! I also did some dishes while giving the kids some (diluted) orange juice and more banana bread. Later, Ayler tried to walk acrobat-style on top of the couch, and Hiero wanted to go jump on the mattress that they were giving away - NO! Ayler made a "Snot Construction Zone" out of his red Chinese gelatinous dessert of leen-goh, and Hiero said, "If you eat a people, you will go to jail for a long time [reasonable] and [my parents] will go too! [HUH?]" HAHAHAHA! Jon did put Hiero in a box, though! I got home at 8 on a 407, which is pretty par for the course!


From Someecards: Creepy Easter Bunny 13!




From Julie: Chinese New Year Facebook stickers 4!




My Facebook posts have been liked 80,000 times!

After MORE COFFEE TIME, I left for Jon and Harmony's at 2. I stopped by the Kam Do Bakery to get a BBQ pork bun to eat on the train, then got to the house at 2:45 or so, right on time. I was delayed a couple of minutes by some neighbor lady with a dog who recognized me from Mom's Facebook photos. I didn't really mind talking to her, though. At least the door was open, probably because it was pretty hot outside! When Jon asked, I requested some water. The kids were eating some snacks when I got there: Hiero offered me his peach pit (no thanks!) and Ayler told me that they didn't have any more BBQ pork buns. That's fine, as I'd just eaten one! Then came the usual questions about how long ago and what time I'd eaten it, along with Ayler reciting all the Canada Line stations up to Olympic Village. He's getting smart!

While Jon's music student Justin was over, the kids were pretty loud, but made "gas stations" out of bristle blocks ("Gas gas gas!"), offered me grapes from their plate (sure!), made long trains, and put some tiny playing cards in numerical order. Apparently, they got them from the hospital ("not blood draws - a vaccine!") a couple weeks ago. At least they're not being taught how to gamble yet! Ayler also wanted me to stay for dinner, so I said I'd think about it. Hiero pointed out some holes in my socks - I swear I just bought them, but who knows? I'll just have to get some more later! Ayler asked me whether Jon would have two more music students; I had no idea! Hiero wanted me to read a book about 100 vehicles to him - sure, why not? It's better than fighting with your brother over toy trains and train tracks!

When Justin left, they "gave" him some train tracks, which he of course put back when they weren't looking. Easy to do! When the kids weren't there, I put back the noisy xylophone and the hammer to go with it, but Ayler was okay with catching the balls with his hand. Jon noticed and thanked me, then a woman came over for a piano lesson. Harmony got home and also invited me to stay for dinner, which was ratatouille / zucchini / corn on the cob. Harmony got home and also invited me to stay for dinner, which was ratatouille / zucchini / corn on the cob. She said that she was thinking about taking the kids to the Family Centre, the park, and then to physio on Wednesday, so my coming over around 12:30 would be good. No time for anything but mushroom soup, then!

Ayler said that we could eat the zucchini seeds, and I offered an apologetic "sorry" to Jon and that other student when Hiero squealed at seeing the corn on the cob. "Corn excitement over here!" Then Ayler said that I could stay for "the ice cream" - cute! Ayler thought that Randal would come over - who knows? He did, though. Hiero told me that Uncle Randal was there, so I asked how he knew. Apparently, he heard Randal's voice. Randal was indeed over for music lessons, and he said hi to me. To be polite, I offered him a frosty Hello back. Whatever, I don't care what the kids think. Then Ayler wondered if he'd eaten yet and whether he'd eat later. I said he might eat later if he hadn't already. Ayler asked why he was reading, so I said that he was probably doing it because he liked reading just like me. That's fine for me, but that's all I'm willing to concede.

Harmony brought out one Easter egg each for the kids (which she'd apparently forgotten about for some time), and Ayler asked why I wasn't having any. I had some chocolate at home already, I told him. Harmony said that I could go after dinner, which was fine by me. I actually had to put down my dinner bowl because Ayler requested a hug before I left, which is totally fine. Ayler also wanted me to stay overnight, so I asked him where I'd sleep. "Share Daddy's pillow!" was the answer I got. I told Harmony that she might want to explain why I could NOT sleep in the same bed as Jon, then left after saying bye to everyone except Randal. If the kids notice and say something, whatever. At 7:15, I was home on a 407, and fielded an email from ERIC HO saying that he'd even had to work on his birthday last week! Poor guy! He wants to catch a Lions game, but I looked at the schedule and the only near ones are in September! Not doable if he wants to hang out as August winds down!


From Julie S. and BFUK: I have 20 unread books at home, but I really, really need to buy this one. That's the story of a book lover!




From the r/hockey Discord server: Nick Bonino has an Italian background, so he's enjoying some homecooked spaghetti right out of the Stanley Cup!