Raising a Bilingual Baby

Well, let's take a close look at this baby-he's not just a ordinary baby, he's a bilingual baby! You may ask, how are you going to raise a baby like this? Answer: No idea. 

My husband and I are both "Made in China". We were born into the Chinese mandarin language. And we learned English and moved to the U.S later on. So you can say we are pretty fluent in both languages. But remember the order: First Chinese, then English. None of us had the experience of learning both at the same time.

Since the day Jayden was born, my husband and I knew Jayden need to learn both Chinese and English growing up. With that goal set in mind, our journey of raising a bilingual baby starts!

So the rule is we talk to Jayden in Chinese at home and English outside of our home. Easy right? Uh, not really! 

• First, after my husband and I coming to the U.S for well over 8 years, we developed our own language" Chinglish". That means we complete one sentence with both English and Chinese! Try understand that, Jayden!
• Second,  my husband's inner mind always see Jayden as an American baby but not a Chinese baby. So he thinks it's more natural to talk to his son in English! So I often found my husband talking to Jayden like this:"That's right, this is a BALL!"
• Third, Most of Jayden's children's books are in English! I either have to translate them all to Chinese then read it to Jayden or just read it to him in English! And of course I didn't translate it! I am a busy mom!
• Fourth, accent! Accent! Accent! We constantly skyping with my family and my husband's family in Chinese. Sounds pretty good right? NO! My family is from Northern China and my husband's family is from Southern China. It's two completely different accents! I remember when I first met my husband's family, I had no idea what they were all saying around me. So Jayden, good luck understanding those accents!
• Fifth, Chinese is hard to learn! How can I explain to Jayden the same sound with different tones can mean complete different things? Xiexie means thank you or shoes. Baobao can means baby, lift me up or purse!
  

Also, our family and friends are constantly challenging Jayden's learning results:

• My Mom: Does Jayden understand me? I bet you guys didn't teach him Chinese at all! I don't want my grandson couldn't understand his grandma! (Sigh...)
• My friend: Hey baby! I bet you have no idea what I am saying right now! Because it's all in English! I bet your parents only talk to you in Chinese! (Even bigger sigh...)
• My Dad: How come he still can't say "Grandpa" in Chinese? When you were this age, you say sentences no problem!(Bilingual kids tend to talk later dad! Plus, he's a boy!)

With all the false accusations and guesses, I am glad to tell you Jayden's actually learning: 

• English words: Ball, Bird(that means everything that flies in the sky, airplane, moon and etc.) Mama, Baba, baby, Uh-oh, Whoa...
• Chinese words: Dengdeng(light), Xiexie(Thank you or shoes), Huahua(flower), YeYe(Grandpa), Nainai(Milk or grandma), Bibi (Nose)
• I do believe he understand most of our instruction in both languages. Jayden will give us a really sad face if he hear "No" and "Time to go night night".  He will clap his hands when we say "Good job!"

So far I am pretty satisfied of what Jayden's learning. If he couldn't learn both languages, at least I am confident he will speak really good "Chinglish" like his parents:) 

Raising a little bilingual is fun and challenging, what's your experience teaching your kids a second language? I would love to hear!

XOXO,

Mia

10 things that will shock you about China

I love China--I love the people, the culture and most importantly, the craziness. If you are planning on  going to China, these 10 things will definately shock you about China.

1. Squatters! You don't sit on the toilet, you squat over these squatters! These squatters are considered cleaner than normal sit-on toilets because there's no physical contact with the toilet seat. I had friends telling me they "totally forgot how to pee" using these squatters!

2. No toilet paper! Chinese just simply don't like to provide toilet paper in the bathrooms. So BYWTP-Bring Your Own Toilet Paper! Buy a dozen of napkins and put in your purse at ALL TIMES!

3. No fortune cookies! Nope, there is NO fortune cookies in China! Those little thingy were created in California. So please don't expect fortune cookies in Chinese restaurant, the restaurant owner probably don't even know what that is!

4. People use umbrella even though its not raining! Chinese love their skin pale-it's beauty. Girls pay thousands of dollars in makeup and whitening lotion so their skin would appear whiter. So people used special made umbrellas to block the sun so their pale skin are protected. 

5. Kids wear split pants! Split pants were super popular in the old days when diapers wasn't introduced. Now it has died down a little bit. But you will still see here and there little kids wearing split pants.

6. Girls are holding hands! It's normal for girls to hold hands in China. It's called friendship. Don't think too much! 

7. Funny English signs! Well, at least they are trying. 

8. People mountain people sea! You will know what that means as soon as you landed in China and how accurate that phrase describes the "people situation" in China. China has a lot of people! Just so you know, I am from a medium-sized city of EIGHT MILLION people!

9. Chinese loves to take pictures with foreigners! Chinese think it's so cool to have a picture with people from outside of China. So ready? Say "Cheese"!

10. Crazy Chinese Driving! Remember that one time you were laughing at Asian drivers? Well, now you are back at their hometown. Instead of one Asian driver on the road, there are tons and thousands of them on the road all together! There's no such thing as "check your blindspot" in Chinese driving. It wasn't even taught at driving school(Been there done that)! Everybody only minds their business in the front. I heard people saying that Chinese driving and traffic is kind of like a high school hallway: It looks like a completely chaos from the outside but somehow it works seamlessly.

I hope you are having a wonderful summer and doing all sorts of fun things. Put China on your travel bucket list and I promise you good old China won't let you down!

XOXO,

Mia

Photo Credit: Internet

Favorite Asian Summer BBQ Sauces

I just love summer! Think watermelon, beach, sunshine, most important of all, Barbecue! Food just tastes good on a grill!

Chinese Street BBQ

I got tons of compliments on how good my meat tastes on BBQ parties. These 3 sauces are my secret weapons: Veri Veri Teriyaki Sauce, Korean BBQ Bulgogi Marinate and Black Pepper Sauce.

Veri Veri Teriyaki 
I discovered this sauce last summer and now I can't live without it! I love to use it on my Kabobs. This sauce has soy sauce, dried onion, sesame seeds, dried garlic and ginger puree. The combination of these ingredient is simply perfect.

Korean BBQ Bulgogi
Bulgogi (Korean Beef BBQ),  is my favorite Korean dish! Bulgogi sauce has a unique kind of sweetness to it. This sweetness is actually come from Korean pear and apple! It's said on the bottle" Pear and apple puree creates a naturally sweet and fruity flavor, enhancing the tenderness of meat!" How amazing is that! This sauce is great for steak, stir fries or any meat marinating.

Black Pepper Sauce
Black pepper steak has always been my all time favorite! I love the spiciness of the black pepper. This can be used as "a gravy for your favorite steaks and as a condiment for stir-fries and marinades." I also used it to make black pepper chicken wings. So delicious!

What's your favorite BBQ sauce?

XOXO,
Mia

Finger-licking Coke Chicken Wings

Fourth of July is this weekend! This Finger-licking Coke Chicken Wings is perfect for your party! Super easy and super yummy!

Caution: Your whole plate will be gone in less than 5 minutes. Seriously, is that good. 

And yes, we are cooking with coke!

Ingredients:

• 1 pound of chicken wings
• 1 bottle of Coke (or Diet Coke)
• 2 tablespoon of olive oil (or regular vegetable oil)
• 2 tablespoon of soy sauce 
• Some sliced ginger 
• Some green onion
• 3-4 Star Anise (you can find these in regular grocery store by hispanic spices section)

Directions:

1. Poke some holes in the chicken wings using a sharp knife. (Allowing better absorbing the flavor)--this can be a great anger management method:)
   
2. Heat the oil in the wok (or regular pan)3. Put ginger, green onion and star anise in the heated oil.
   
   4. Add chicken wings to the wok.
   
   5. Add coke to the wok just enough to immerse the chicken wings. (You don't have to use the whole bottle)
   
   6. Add 2 tablespoon of soy sauce.
   
   7. Put on high heat and let it simmer till the sauce is dense. It takes around 20 minutes.
   
   8. When the sauce is dense and bubbly, remove it from the heat! (We are dealing with sugar here, so always remove the mixture from the heat before your eyes tells you to. Sugar is so easy to burn!)
   
   9. You are all done! Time to enjoy! 
   
   
   Hope you all have a wonderful 4th of July weekend! Let me know how you like this easy yummy recipe! I love comments!
   
   
   XOXO, 
   Mia

10 Tips for Traveling and Flying with Your Busy Toddler

Aloha! We just got back from our dream family vacation to Hawaii and it was so much fun! The only downside to our vacation is that it's so hard to travel with a toddler! Toddlers are too old to sit still and too young to watch a movie. We have learned so much from this trip than all the other trips combined since we had Jayden. (Yes, we did take Jayden to China when he was 10 months and I still say this Hawaii trip is the hardest!)  It was just so easy when Jayden was a baby!

Here are the tips we learned from our experience:

1. Pack lightly for yourself. We packed everything we could think of with us this time --worst decision ever! We just ended up juggling between bags and suitcases. We had 3 carryon suitcases, 3 carryon bags plus stroller and carseat. Oh, and we have to carry Jayden! Can you imagine how are we carrying it all through security check? Or even just to get from Point A to Point B? And with so many bags we had, it's almost impossible to know where everything is! We have to rebuy sunscreen because we just simply couldn't find them!

So please please get rid of all the "I might need this" items from your luggage. Anything you might need is very likely to be purchased at your destination. I made the mistake of bringing my big fancy camera. Yes, those fancy camera do take better pictures. But it's just so much easier to take pictures with your smart phone and not have to carry a huge burden around your neck!

2. Pack lightly for your baby. I know baby needs a lot of things, but only take the most essential ones. You really don't have bring a huge tub of diaper cream and 100 diapers in your suitcase! Always bring travel size baby items and only bring amount of diaper can get you through the first day or so. Then buy the rest of them at your destination.

3. Put your IDs and Wallet from reach of your toddler. I have been putting my credit card and ID in my phone case. It's just so easy to carry around! But the problem is, toddlers love your phone! They like to push all the button and play with it. Jayden actually took my credit card and ID out of my phone  while we were in our friends car. I also lost my mind the next day when I found out my credit card and ID are missing!

4. Make friends with people sitting around you on the plane. Jayden has been a huge pain on the plane! He goes up and down the seats, trying to escape from my arms when the plane takes off, crying for no reason. I can feel the tension built up around us. It was so stressful!

It's easier when people around us understand that you have a crazy toddler! They might not do much but at least they will understand! Plus there's always nice people like to play with your toddler so they can help you entertain your little social butterfly. I don't recommend doing those cute Pinterest bags (cute note, ear plugs, candy and etc.) Those are for Pinterest, not real life! Nobody ain't got time for that!

5. Yes, you have the privilege of priority boarding and priority security check! Almost all airports and airlines give family who travel with children 2 or under these privilege. Use it!

6. Window seats are wonderful for toddlers. Window seat on the plane can help entertain your little one for obvious reason: the view! Toddlers are often fascinated by what's going on outside the window. Another hidden advantage: toddlers love to play with the window shutter! Jayden really enjoys opening and shutting the window shutter ( Yes, it can get annoying but still better than a crying child)!

7. Make sure your toddler is not hungry. Happy tummy, happy baby! Toddlers (or everyone) gets grumpy when they are hungry. Feed your toddler enough before getting on the plane.

8. Try not to change your toddler's schedule too much. It's hard for toddler to travel. It's even
harder when their schedule get messed up. Toddlers that lack of sleep can cause a lot of "I want to pull my hair out" moments for parents. It's totally OK to miss a night show. You need a happy child for the next day.

9. Childproof your hotel room. Put away anything that could cause problems in your hotel room. Some hotel rooms put glasses on the coffee table that's completely reachable by your mobile toddlers. Make sure you put it somewhere higher to prevent any shattered glass or crying baby.

Jayden found ways to stand in the dresser drawer and actually tipped over this whole dresser!

10. Bring your baby carrier. Baby carrier is wonderful on trips! It gives parents the freedom of free hands and toddlers seem to be less fussier in baby carrier than stroller. Plus, there are some places will not let you bring your stroller in so baby carrier comes extremely handy! Your toddler can even take a comfy nap on your shoulders if needed.

Our baby carrier was a great lifesaver for us on the trip

I am a firm believer of traveling does marvelous to children. They can learn to adjust to new environment, explore new things and simply have fun. Traveling with children is hard, but so worth it! Hope you get to travel a little bit this summer!

Beautiful ocean view

In front of LDS Temple in Hawaii 

Mahalo and Aloha(Thank you and bye-bye )!

Giveaway Time!

Giveaway | Jurassic World | Roar

Did you know that Utah is a Dinosaur Fossil gold mine?! I mean, Utah, it's a big deal.

So big in fact, that the Utahraptor was found right here in Moab, Utah. That's right people, we have our own dinosaur. It's also a cousin of the Velociraptor in Jurassic Park. Utah has a lot of dinosaur history, so we've compiled a list of our favorite Dinosaur Museums. You'll definetly want to add these museums to your summer bucket list.

Natural History Museum of Utah | Salt Lake City

The Natural History Museum of Utah has the world's largest and only display of 14 ceratopsian (horned) dinosaur skulls. The Museum collection is super unique because nearly all the specimens are from Utah and at least 15 of them are new to science since 2000!

They also have the Lythronax (similar to tyrannasaurus) that was found in Southern Utah and can only be found on display here in Utah! 

Museum of Ancient Life | Thanksgiving Point | Lehi

The Museum of Ancient Life at Thanksgiving Point has 60 complete dinosaur skeletons and is one of the largest dinosaur museums in the world. You've probably driven by it and seen the giant tyrannasaurus rex on the building. 

Ogden Eccles Dinosaur Park | Ogden

Tucked in the mouth of Weber Canyon, you'll find dinosaurs hidden throughout the brush by the Weber River. Watch paleontologist clean off fossils or dig for some gems in the cave. The Jurassic-World-like playground will have your kids playing for hours!

St. George Dinosaur Discovery Site | St. George

This museum just opened up in 2000 and is family-friendly. It's built over dinosaur footprints that you can see through the floor. Best part? The footprints were found right here in Utah. It's a small museum, but it is jam packed with fossils! Be sure to schedule a tour, we hear that's the way to visit. 

National Geographic just did a story on all the new species that are coming out of Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument in Southern Utah and all the pieces are sent to the Utah Museum of Natural History. Pretty cool right? 

So cool in fact, that we've got a giant giveaway!

***GIVEAWAY***

We will have five winners! Thanks to our amazing sponsors! This giveaway has a little bit of something for every age. Baby, littles, teens and adults will all love this giveaway. 

Natural History Museum of Utah : Tickets
Thanksgiving Point : Tickets
Megaplex Theatres : Movie Passes & Large Popcorn
The Salt Project : 2 Adventure Packs
LeggyBlondeShop : Dinosaur Planter
LovelyLettersDesign : Dinosaur Party Invites and Thank You Cards
SnuggleMeDesigns : Dinosaur Hooded Towel
Cloud9Craftss : Jurassic Park Movie Poster
LittleSaplingToys : Dino Teethers
The Potter's-Place : Potter Pack

Here's how the bounty will be divided.  We will have 5 winners.

The Grand Prize Winner

5 Tickets to the Natural History Museum of Utah
5 Tickets to Thanksgiving Point's Museum of Ancient Life
2 Movie Passes & Large Popcorn from Megaplex Theatres
2 Salt Project Adventure Packs
First Choice to 2 other prizes
1 Dino Teether
1 Potter Pack

Second Place

5 Tickets to the Natural History Museum of Utah
5 Tickets to Thanksgiving Point's Museum of Ancient Life
2 Movie Passes & Large Popcorn from Megaplex Theatres
Second Choice to 1 other prize
1 Dino Teether

Third Place

4 Tickets to the Natural History Museum of Utah
2 Movie Passes & Large Popcorn from Megaplex Theatres
Third Choice of 1 other prize
1 Dino Teether

Fourth Place

4 Tickets to the Natural History Museum of Utah
2 Movie Passes & Large Popcorn from Megaplex Theatres
Fourth Choice of 1 other prize
1 Dino Teether

Fifth Place

2 Tickets to the Natural History Museum of Utah
2 Movie Passes & Large Popcorn from Megaplex Theatres
Fifth Choice of 1 other prize
1 Dino Teether

Entry-Form

Ancient Chinese Mosquito Repellent

We live in a mosquito heaven.  Our house is really close to the lake so in summer time, there are mosquitos everywhere!

I hate it hate it hate it! I also have "sweet blood" that mosquitos love, so I got tons of bites every summer.

I also so sick of buying all the expensive mosquito repellent that filled with chemicals from the store. So this is ancient Chinese way is the way to go.

My mom taught me this ancient Chinese natural mosquito repellent when I told her the mosquito problem. She told me JUST APPLY SOME SESAME OIL! Mosquito hates sesame oil

So apparently, sesame oil is not only tasty but also repels mosquitos. Who knew? And it's completely natural with zero chemicals and it's perfect for little kids. So check your pantry! You might have a bottle of natural mosquito repellent sitting in there!

I hope this will help you with the buggy summer and apply some sesame oil as mosquito repellent when you are out and about!

XOXO,

Mia