In this economy with three kids, two in private school, one paycheck... we have to make do with what we've got. That includes improvising on extracurricular activities.
We are being green by reusing the bottles AND saving money. Nifty, eh?
Here's a video of Taede playing with one of his balls. One of these days Shana's going to get a call from me to take me to the ER because I've broken my leg, stepping on one of them darn things in the kitchen.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
The Tea Party
I came upon this picture when I dug around looking for Taede pictures. I don't know why I didn't post it before. I love it.
This was taken during the Tea Party mania, when Malia was hosting hourly tea parties.
It takes a confident Prince to have tea with this Princess.
I love my girl. She cracks me up!
This was taken during the Tea Party mania, when Malia was hosting hourly tea parties.
It takes a confident Prince to have tea with this Princess.
I love my girl. She cracks me up!
How fast a year goes by.
Wow. I can't believe my baby is one. It seems like not too long ago that I was still pregnant with who I thought was the most stubborn of my three kids because he refused to vacate the womb until exactly 40 weeks. This year has really gone by fast, even with me purposefully enjoying and savoring every second because I know he's my last.
As I hold him now, I marvel at how much he's grown. I used to feel that I had to wrap my arms around him twice, lest he slip through because he was so tiny. Now I have to wrap my arms around him twice because he's so wiggly that he will slip through and konk his noggin on the floor in his efforts to get down and walk.
I refuse to cut his hair despite getting told constantly that my "little girl" is so cute. Once I cut it, then he'll officially step over into the realm of toddlerhood. And I'm just not ready to let go of my baby yet.
One of my favorite pictures, taken hours after birth. (Thanks Shana!)
Age: 3 months (December 2008)
Age: 6.5 months (April 2009)
Age: 9 months (June 2009)
Age: 12 months (September 2009)
Happy Birthday Taede -- we love you.
As I hold him now, I marvel at how much he's grown. I used to feel that I had to wrap my arms around him twice, lest he slip through because he was so tiny. Now I have to wrap my arms around him twice because he's so wiggly that he will slip through and konk his noggin on the floor in his efforts to get down and walk.
I refuse to cut his hair despite getting told constantly that my "little girl" is so cute. Once I cut it, then he'll officially step over into the realm of toddlerhood. And I'm just not ready to let go of my baby yet.
One of my favorite pictures, taken hours after birth. (Thanks Shana!)
Age: 3 months (December 2008)
Age: 6.5 months (April 2009)
Age: 9 months (June 2009)
Age: 12 months (September 2009)
Happy Birthday Taede -- we love you.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
My how you've grown!
the cage because she's getting so big. Thien swears they don't eat
people but there's always that one mutant bug, right?
-- sent by iPhone
Sunday, September 20, 2009
May The Force Be With You
Kael (and Taede) had their joint birthday party yesterday. It was Star Wars themed so obviously Kael had a lot of input. It was mostly (Ok... all) of Kael's friends and they had a blast. Obi Wan Kenobi, Darth Vader and a Storm Trooper made an appearance and engaged the kids in games and Jedi Training. It was a blazing hot day so I felt really bad for Darth. He was roasting in his outfit but I had to hand it to those guys -- they had 25 kids aged 4 and up completely enthralled.
They tried to bring Kael to the front as it was his special day but he was having none of that. He's very stage shy and refused to be the center of attention. This personality quirk resulted in a couple of very funny moments.
Moment #1:
When Obi Wan first showed up, he asked the kids who was in charge of the group. Immediately a bunch of hands shot up. Obi was looking for Kael but Kael refused to raise his hand, not wanting to be noticed. Obi asked again: "Who's in charge of this group? Who's the reason why we are all gathered here?" Now the kids caught on and they all yelled out Kael's name, pointing at him. Kael, eyes bugged out, started to frantically shake his head "NoNoNoNo!" Obi pointed to him and asked: "Are you in charge of this group?" Kael's response: "No, I'm not in charge. My mom is in charge."
I cracked up. That's my boy!
Moment #2:
Vader made his huge appearance and ominously asked the group something like "Where's Kael?" or "Where's the boy with the strongest Force?" Something that obviously pointed to Kael. Once again, Kael frantically shook his head. Everyone's pointing at Kael, yelling his name. Then I hear a familiar voice, rising above all others, yelling out: "Don't raise your hand Kael! Don't raise your hand!!"
It was Mikayla, watching out for Kael. I about peed in my pants. I love that girl.
It looked like all the kids had a great time, despite pictures of them engaging in all manners of warfare. A party is only as good as the party goers -- and the kids were awesome. I have a ton of pictures posted so take a look. Make sure you read the captions too.
Thank you to everyone for coming and making a special day even more special for my boys.
They tried to bring Kael to the front as it was his special day but he was having none of that. He's very stage shy and refused to be the center of attention. This personality quirk resulted in a couple of very funny moments.
Moment #1:
When Obi Wan first showed up, he asked the kids who was in charge of the group. Immediately a bunch of hands shot up. Obi was looking for Kael but Kael refused to raise his hand, not wanting to be noticed. Obi asked again: "Who's in charge of this group? Who's the reason why we are all gathered here?" Now the kids caught on and they all yelled out Kael's name, pointing at him. Kael, eyes bugged out, started to frantically shake his head "NoNoNoNo!" Obi pointed to him and asked: "Are you in charge of this group?" Kael's response: "No, I'm not in charge. My mom is in charge."
I cracked up. That's my boy!
Moment #2:
Vader made his huge appearance and ominously asked the group something like "Where's Kael?" or "Where's the boy with the strongest Force?" Something that obviously pointed to Kael. Once again, Kael frantically shook his head. Everyone's pointing at Kael, yelling his name. Then I hear a familiar voice, rising above all others, yelling out: "Don't raise your hand Kael! Don't raise your hand!!"
It was Mikayla, watching out for Kael. I about peed in my pants. I love that girl.
It looked like all the kids had a great time, despite pictures of them engaging in all manners of warfare. A party is only as good as the party goers -- and the kids were awesome. I have a ton of pictures posted so take a look. Make sure you read the captions too.
Thank you to everyone for coming and making a special day even more special for my boys.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
A picture is worth a 1000 words
There was a disagreement this morning and Kael got mad at Malia. He drew a picture expressing his feelings.
Can you tell what it says?
-- sent by iPhone
Friday, September 18, 2009
I still have tomorrow.
I'm supposed to be baking tonight. I have to make 70 cupcakes for Kael's and Taede's birthday party on Sunday.
Seventy cupcakes
7-0
That's a boatload of cupcakes. The plan was to make them tonight then transport them to Linda's because my fridge is packed with fruit and veggie trays. She's coming to the party after church and will bring them for me to keep the frosting from melting (it's supposed to be in the upper 80's, low 90's).
I was all fired up to make them too. Then Linda invited us to the Boiling Crab. Of course I accepted. Anything to get out of making dinner. But it's still good. We'll grab dinner, put the kids to sleep then I'll morph into Betty Crocker and bake. However, I didn't take into account the long wait at the Boiling Crab. Or the good food. Or the smell that's still stuck to my fingers despite a long hot shower and several hand washings.
Now I'm too lazy to bake. So that leaves me tomorrow. Tomorrow is Saturday. The party is Sunday. Truong is going to be doing a Habitat for Humanity gig at the LA County Fairgrounds from 8:30am until about 5:00pm. Pretty much a full workday. Leaving me at home with three kids and a hot oven.
Oh man.
Seventy cupcakes
7-0
That's a boatload of cupcakes. The plan was to make them tonight then transport them to Linda's because my fridge is packed with fruit and veggie trays. She's coming to the party after church and will bring them for me to keep the frosting from melting (it's supposed to be in the upper 80's, low 90's).
I was all fired up to make them too. Then Linda invited us to the Boiling Crab. Of course I accepted. Anything to get out of making dinner. But it's still good. We'll grab dinner, put the kids to sleep then I'll morph into Betty Crocker and bake. However, I didn't take into account the long wait at the Boiling Crab. Or the good food. Or the smell that's still stuck to my fingers despite a long hot shower and several hand washings.
Now I'm too lazy to bake. So that leaves me tomorrow. Tomorrow is Saturday. The party is Sunday. Truong is going to be doing a Habitat for Humanity gig at the LA County Fairgrounds from 8:30am until about 5:00pm. Pretty much a full workday. Leaving me at home with three kids and a hot oven.
Oh man.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
To know her is to love her. Sometimes.
Malia has been... an interesting child lately. There's something going on in her noggin and I can't figure out what. She's usually a very fun, bright, engaging person to hang out with. I love playing with her and listening to her talk about her princess play. Her imagination is amazing.
That's the way she is usually. The other side of her is dark. So very dark. Very confusing too. Bouts of hysterical crying if looked at the wrong way. Periods of complete and utter mulishness. If I ask her to not do something (i.e. Please walk close to me; we're in the parking lot) she will purposefully go out of her way to do exactly that (i.e. slows her pace and walks waaayyy to the side of me, in the parking lot). I've toyed with saying the exact opposite of what I want so she'd unwittingly do what I want her to do, to see what would happen but she's so unpredictable that there's no way to guessing what she'd do. So it's better to not say anything at all. But come on: I'm a mom, I must say something!
And that's her attitude towards me. I pity poor Kael. She's an absolute witch and a half to him. Unfortunately, she knows she's kind of got a Get-Out-Of-Jail-Free card where they are concerned. She's being disciplined more but it's usually Kael that I have to talk to. Why? Where's the fairness? you ask. Well, Kael is older and has a better understanding of his moods and reactions. Malia is like a crazy pre-pre-pre-pre PMS psycho person trapped in a 3 year old body. I might as well try to reason with a Tasmanian devil defending a meal.
Case in point: their bedtimes. The past couple of weeks Malia's been a nightmare. Our bedtime routine hasn't changed but for some reason, she's been real antsy, antagonizing poor Kael. Little things like tapping on the wall. Kicking his bed (they have a bunk). Tossing her toys up on his bed. Thumping the side of his bed with a pillow. You all know Kael: he's a pretty routine kind of kid and anything weird will throw him off kilter. A few times I've come out from the shower to see stuff on the floor piled in front of their bedroom door: her pillow, her stuffed animals, random toys.
What the heck??
Sometime later, the door opens again, then quietly closes. I go to investigate. It's Kael. He's the one dumping stuff out. Apparently, he's had to climb down from his bed, confiscate the whatever thing Malia was using to irritate the living snot out of him, and toss it out the room.
Malia's upset, she's trying to pull her loot back into her bed. He's mad at her, telling me what happened. And I feel so bad for Kael. He's tired, he wants to sleep. He's got a full day of school and he's dealing with this crap at 9:30pm. So of course Malia gets in trouble. That results in her crying (and not the usual crying, we're talking the screaming hysterical banshee crying), which makes noise level significantly worse than before.
Oi.
Tonight was such a night. I've stripped her of 2 pillows, Purple Tiger, Mermaid pillow, Pink Horsey (ouch!) and a ball (?? what was that doing in her bed??). There was some protest thumping of the wall -- or maybe it was her bumping against the wall since I took away her pillow bumper -- but it's finally all quiet.
She's probably plotting a midnight raid of her stuff. Sometimes her stuff mysteriously shows up back in her room in the morning....
That's the way she is usually. The other side of her is dark. So very dark. Very confusing too. Bouts of hysterical crying if looked at the wrong way. Periods of complete and utter mulishness. If I ask her to not do something (i.e. Please walk close to me; we're in the parking lot) she will purposefully go out of her way to do exactly that (i.e. slows her pace and walks waaayyy to the side of me, in the parking lot). I've toyed with saying the exact opposite of what I want so she'd unwittingly do what I want her to do, to see what would happen but she's so unpredictable that there's no way to guessing what she'd do. So it's better to not say anything at all. But come on: I'm a mom, I must say something!
And that's her attitude towards me. I pity poor Kael. She's an absolute witch and a half to him. Unfortunately, she knows she's kind of got a Get-Out-Of-Jail-Free card where they are concerned. She's being disciplined more but it's usually Kael that I have to talk to. Why? Where's the fairness? you ask. Well, Kael is older and has a better understanding of his moods and reactions. Malia is like a crazy pre-pre-pre-pre PMS psycho person trapped in a 3 year old body. I might as well try to reason with a Tasmanian devil defending a meal.
Case in point: their bedtimes. The past couple of weeks Malia's been a nightmare. Our bedtime routine hasn't changed but for some reason, she's been real antsy, antagonizing poor Kael. Little things like tapping on the wall. Kicking his bed (they have a bunk). Tossing her toys up on his bed. Thumping the side of his bed with a pillow. You all know Kael: he's a pretty routine kind of kid and anything weird will throw him off kilter. A few times I've come out from the shower to see stuff on the floor piled in front of their bedroom door: her pillow, her stuffed animals, random toys.
What the heck??
Sometime later, the door opens again, then quietly closes. I go to investigate. It's Kael. He's the one dumping stuff out. Apparently, he's had to climb down from his bed, confiscate the whatever thing Malia was using to irritate the living snot out of him, and toss it out the room.
Malia's upset, she's trying to pull her loot back into her bed. He's mad at her, telling me what happened. And I feel so bad for Kael. He's tired, he wants to sleep. He's got a full day of school and he's dealing with this crap at 9:30pm. So of course Malia gets in trouble. That results in her crying (and not the usual crying, we're talking the screaming hysterical banshee crying), which makes noise level significantly worse than before.
Oi.
Tonight was such a night. I've stripped her of 2 pillows, Purple Tiger, Mermaid pillow, Pink Horsey (ouch!) and a ball (?? what was that doing in her bed??). There was some protest thumping of the wall -- or maybe it was her bumping against the wall since I took away her pillow bumper -- but it's finally all quiet.
She's probably plotting a midnight raid of her stuff. Sometimes her stuff mysteriously shows up back in her room in the morning....
The Hero
A couple of days ago I asked Kael what he did at school. He responded with a "I helped my friend today."
That was it. No further explanation, no clarification, no details, no hints. Nothing. Typical guy response where every single little detail had to be pried out of him.
So I probed a little. Apparently (and this is his version of what went down) his friend and classmate Viken was playing with a ball. Another kid from another class tried to take away said ball. There was a fight. Viken started crying. Kael and another classmate Michael walked up, broke up the fight and said "Hey! There's no fighting for the ball."
Kael: "My friend Viken was playing with the ball first."
Michael: "You have to get another ball."
Then someone, I'm not sure who because it took a lot of my concentration to follow along with all the words that were torrentially falling out of Kael's mouth, took the ball and gave it back to Viken.
I was hanging on to every word, astounded. "What did the kid do? What did he say? What did Viken do?"
Kael: "The kid said OK then went away to play with another ball. Viken said 'Thanks guys!' "
Wow.
I was so proud of Kael. I asked him how it felt to help out his friend and he said "Good! It made me feel really good."
Being almost 6 years old, I'm not sure if the action really went down that way. I mean, come on, I ask him what he did in class that day as we walk away from the classroom and he tells me he can't remember. We're in the hallway, and he can't remember!
So the next day, I find Viken's dad and ask him if Viken said anything about the incident. Viken hadn't mentioned it at home but his dad went to ask him about what happened. He came back and reported that Viken told him it was Kael who took the ball away from the other kid to give back to Viken.
Again, WOW! I am such a proud mom!
That was it. No further explanation, no clarification, no details, no hints. Nothing. Typical guy response where every single little detail had to be pried out of him.
So I probed a little. Apparently (and this is his version of what went down) his friend and classmate Viken was playing with a ball. Another kid from another class tried to take away said ball. There was a fight. Viken started crying. Kael and another classmate Michael walked up, broke up the fight and said "Hey! There's no fighting for the ball."
Kael: "My friend Viken was playing with the ball first."
Michael: "You have to get another ball."
Then someone, I'm not sure who because it took a lot of my concentration to follow along with all the words that were torrentially falling out of Kael's mouth, took the ball and gave it back to Viken.
I was hanging on to every word, astounded. "What did the kid do? What did he say? What did Viken do?"
Kael: "The kid said OK then went away to play with another ball. Viken said 'Thanks guys!' "
Wow.
I was so proud of Kael. I asked him how it felt to help out his friend and he said "Good! It made me feel really good."
Being almost 6 years old, I'm not sure if the action really went down that way. I mean, come on, I ask him what he did in class that day as we walk away from the classroom and he tells me he can't remember. We're in the hallway, and he can't remember!
So the next day, I find Viken's dad and ask him if Viken said anything about the incident. Viken hadn't mentioned it at home but his dad went to ask him about what happened. He came back and reported that Viken told him it was Kael who took the ball away from the other kid to give back to Viken.
Again, WOW! I am such a proud mom!
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
San Diego Spash Park
We went to San Diego this past weekend for my cousin's husband's birthday. Their community has a very cool splash park that's FREE! It's a perfect place for hosting parties. Huge play structure. Lots of water splash zones. Not crowded at all even with the weather being perfect for a water park kind of day. The people were nice. It was great.
Their son Connor is 15 months old and you can tell that he's an old pro at the park. Taede was a little cautious at first but eventually warmed up. He refused all helping hands and preferred to walk about solo. Kael disappeared, running like a madman, and Malia was hanging out by the water mushrooms.
The kids had a great time so we will have to brave the 90 minute drive for another visit.
You can check out the pictures here.
Their son Connor is 15 months old and you can tell that he's an old pro at the park. Taede was a little cautious at first but eventually warmed up. He refused all helping hands and preferred to walk about solo. Kael disappeared, running like a madman, and Malia was hanging out by the water mushrooms.
The kids had a great time so we will have to brave the 90 minute drive for another visit.
You can check out the pictures here.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
When the girls go shopping.
A couple of weekends ago Malia and I took a Mother and Daughter shopping trip. She needed some Fall school clothes and Taede just needed some clothes. I left the boys at home with Truong in charge. Taede was sleeping and Kael was quietly playing with his Legos.
I call home as we get near lunchtime to check in and was told that Taede was awake and that Truong was going to let Kael play in the water. "Oh, how nice!" I think. "It's a hot day so Dad's pulling out the inflatables in the backyard."
Cool. I'll head home, let Malia play for a bit then nap her.
This is what I saw when we pulled up:
Kael and Russell (our neighbors) having a huge water fight with the other neighbor's kids. On our front lawn.
There's Ben and Jacob -- the victims of Kael's demented look above. Ethan running in the back to reload. And yes, that's Taede in the middle of the water warfare. Chewing on, you guessed it, a water pistol. Gotta love it when Dad's in charge.
He's have a great time. So I'll ignore the water gun for now.
Next up: the Slip N Slide.
The boys have a hard time waiting and end up piling on top of each other.
Our front yard. This was what I saw when I pulled up. Well, add 4 more boys running around, that is.
Still chewing away.
Where's Malia? you ask. She was having a picnic in the garage, away from the boys running around like lunatics. It's tough being the only girl around.
I call home as we get near lunchtime to check in and was told that Taede was awake and that Truong was going to let Kael play in the water. "Oh, how nice!" I think. "It's a hot day so Dad's pulling out the inflatables in the backyard."
Cool. I'll head home, let Malia play for a bit then nap her.
This is what I saw when we pulled up:
Kael and Russell (our neighbors) having a huge water fight with the other neighbor's kids. On our front lawn.
There's Ben and Jacob -- the victims of Kael's demented look above. Ethan running in the back to reload. And yes, that's Taede in the middle of the water warfare. Chewing on, you guessed it, a water pistol. Gotta love it when Dad's in charge.
He's have a great time. So I'll ignore the water gun for now.
Next up: the Slip N Slide.
The boys have a hard time waiting and end up piling on top of each other.
Our front yard. This was what I saw when I pulled up. Well, add 4 more boys running around, that is.
Still chewing away.
Where's Malia? you ask. She was having a picnic in the garage, away from the boys running around like lunatics. It's tough being the only girl around.
It's the first day of (swim) school!
Taeder Tot was... well, you can see for yourself.
"I can sense something big is happening. What, I'm not sure..."
The kids goofing off. Malia is doing her "Princess Smile": the tilted shoulder, the cocked head, the demure smile. She's such a crack up.
Malia's swim cap. Name the kid wearing it.
Taeder Tot and Sara. No, I'm not cutting his hair. And no, I didn't curl it. It does that on its own.
I can't get a read on his face. Is it saying: "Why aren't you in here with me?" Or is it saying: "What the hell am I doing here?"
And no, I will not reconsider cutting his hair.
Uh-oh.
Awww....
"I don't want to be here... But don't leave me!!!"
He learned to hold his breath pretty quick.
"I hate it here! I want out of here! And I'm taking this toy with me. And that toy too!"
And for your listening pleasure:
He's in the throes of some pretty bad separation anxiety so that doesn't help any. Hopefully he will understand any attempts to thwart swimming lessons via screaming will prove futile and will start enjoying the lessons as his siblings do now, sooner rather than later.
"I can sense something big is happening. What, I'm not sure..."
The kids goofing off. Malia is doing her "Princess Smile": the tilted shoulder, the cocked head, the demure smile. She's such a crack up.
Malia's swim cap. Name the kid wearing it.
Taeder Tot and Sara. No, I'm not cutting his hair. And no, I didn't curl it. It does that on its own.
I can't get a read on his face. Is it saying: "Why aren't you in here with me?" Or is it saying: "What the hell am I doing here?"
And no, I will not reconsider cutting his hair.
Uh-oh.
Awww....
"I don't want to be here... But don't leave me!!!"
He learned to hold his breath pretty quick.
"I hate it here! I want out of here! And I'm taking this toy with me. And that toy too!"
And for your listening pleasure:
He's in the throes of some pretty bad separation anxiety so that doesn't help any. Hopefully he will understand any attempts to thwart swimming lessons via screaming will prove futile and will start enjoying the lessons as his siblings do now, sooner rather than later.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Swim Buddy
I've been in San Jose the past few days (just came back this morning at 2:30am) so I didn't get a chance to post anything new from last week. The biggest thing being Taede's first swim lesson. Since it's pretty late and I'm pretty tired, I will post Malia's swim lesson. Kael requested that do one of his too so I'll do that tomorrow.
Anyway, Malia is the fish in pink and her BFF Audrey is in blue. They are supposed to have 15 minutes of solo private lessons but Audrey was having a hard time with swim class way back when so we thought having a swim buddy (Malia) would help her. The new swim class would then be 10 minutes solo with Audrey, shared 10 minutes with both girls then 10 minutes solo with Malia.
It worked great. Malia listened better and started trying harder. Audrey stopped crying and started swimming. It was freaking fantastic. Eventually though this swim "buddy" system took on some kind of crazy fierce Olympic competitive feeling. (Notice how I have the word buddy in "quotes.")
The girls now race across from platform to platform. Back and forth, back and forth. Not heeding Sara's (their swim teacher) instructions. We've got girls bumping the other out of the way like it's a roller derby. Cutting the other off at the platform. Pulling feet and grabbing swim suits. It's a dog eat dog lesson out there. They don't even care about form. Sara's trying to get them to use their arms and start doing freestyle but they won't listen. The only thing that matters is who gets across first.
They are so funny. I've never seen them try so hard and I will say: peer pressure works. Linda and I will have to be careful with how we wield this power.
Anyway, Malia is the fish in pink and her BFF Audrey is in blue. They are supposed to have 15 minutes of solo private lessons but Audrey was having a hard time with swim class way back when so we thought having a swim buddy (Malia) would help her. The new swim class would then be 10 minutes solo with Audrey, shared 10 minutes with both girls then 10 minutes solo with Malia.
It worked great. Malia listened better and started trying harder. Audrey stopped crying and started swimming. It was freaking fantastic. Eventually though this swim "buddy" system took on some kind of crazy fierce Olympic competitive feeling. (Notice how I have the word buddy in "quotes.")
The girls now race across from platform to platform. Back and forth, back and forth. Not heeding Sara's (their swim teacher) instructions. We've got girls bumping the other out of the way like it's a roller derby. Cutting the other off at the platform. Pulling feet and grabbing swim suits. It's a dog eat dog lesson out there. They don't even care about form. Sara's trying to get them to use their arms and start doing freestyle but they won't listen. The only thing that matters is who gets across first.
They are so funny. I've never seen them try so hard and I will say: peer pressure works. Linda and I will have to be careful with how we wield this power.
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