I'm not talking embarrassing places like sitting on the john, trying to -- as Truong would so delicately say -- pinch off a loaf so you can run, duck and cover. No. I'm talking about where's the worse place to be in terms of safety.
That would be an elevator, right? All the experts say in the event of a fire or earthquake, do not take the elevator.
Guess where we were this morning when the 5.4 hit? You guessed it. Just stepping into an elevator. The kids and I picked up Truong for lunch and we had just stepped into the elevator to go to the ground floor. Kael was madly punching the buttons when the doors started acting weird. It wouldn't, couldn't close. The elevator starting shaking and swaying. I could see the doors trying to close but they were off center, rocking left to right. It was weird to see the frame and the elevator move in opposite directions. At first I thought: well, damn -- Kael broke the elevator! But it continued to sway and that's when I realized that it was an earthquake. Almost immediately I thought "Crap! We're in an elevator where the only lifeline is a cable that could snap at anytime..." Just when I started to make my move to pick up the kids and push everyone out, the swaying stopped. The doors closed and we moved down.
When the doors opened, Truong and I just stood there, not moving. I'm not sure why we hesitated except that the experience really weirded us out. We heard some people talking in the lobby and that's when we realized we weren't transported to another dimension in that crazy ass elevator and got off.
All in all, I have to wholeheartedly agree with the experts: Do NOT get on an elevator during an earthquake.
On a side note that's kind of funny: I got phone calls from friends wanting to make sure I was OK. The first call was from Shana, who was in Carlsbad (nearish San Diego) so I could understand her knowing about the quake. She is, after all not only in the same state, but in the area.
The odd call I got was from Erin. The same Erin who lives in Saline, Michigan. MICHIGAN! How in the hell did she hear about the quake fast enough to make a phone call within 20 minutes of it happening?! But that's not all. She got a phone call from her mom, Maureen who lives in Massachusetts. MASSACHUSETTS! Maureen heard about it, called Erin in Michigan, to let Erin know that there was a quake in Chino Hills and wasn't that near where you lived? So then Erin got on the horn and called me.
Wow. That's the longest grapevine I've ever encountered.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Sunday, July 27, 2008
The Beach. The Eye. The ER.
The title says it all.
THE BEACH
It was decided at 9:00pm last night that we'd head to the beach today. With a late phone call to Christina, our party of 4 increased by 3 to a party of 7 for a day of fun in the sand and sun. Truong left for a round of golf at 5:30am this morning and while he was gone, I got a phone call from Shana. Turns out Gina got the mystery DiDodo fever last night so Patrick's plan of taking his kids to Huntington Beach to watch the ProAM surfing contest was tanked. So I invited the DiDodo Boys to come to Corona del Mar with us. That bumped our beach group by 2, making it a total of 9 beach goers. Truong came home from golfing, saw our neighbor Charlie outside doing something and invited them too. I guess Charlie's wife (with a brand new #3) was cool with the boys getting out of her hair and granted them permission, increasing the party by another 3 - a grand total of 12. Whew! Larger than we planned but the more the merrier.
The kids had a great time. Digging trenches, boogie boarding, making a moat, body surfing - they did it all. Well, almost everyone had a great time. Malia had a so-so time. She is definitely not a beach bunny. The surf was pretty high today and under normal circumstances she's not enthralled with waves anyway, so today she really didn't want anything to do with them. For Malia to enjoy the beach, you'd have took away the surf and basically make the ocean a large pool. By 1:00pm, she was ready to go home -- as demonstrated by her wrapping herself around Truong and telling him: "Daddy, Mia tired. Mia want ice cream."
The bigger kids (and Trevor) were having a great time so we didn't leave there until close to 3:00pm. Kael did not nap at all and Malia only napped for about 40 minutes so I knew tonight was going to be pretty rough.
THE EYE
After an early dinner where Kael all but fell asleep in his food, I let the kids wind down by watching a bit of TV while we cleaned up. All of a sudden Kael ran to me screaming "MY EYE! MY EYE!" His hands are furiously rubbing his left eye and tears are running down his face. I try to get him to stop rubbing in fear of him damaging his eye but something must have really been stuck in there because in the end, both Truong and I had to restrain him. Over the course of 30 minutes, I flushed his eye with water but he was still pretty hysterical, refusing to open his eye. At one point he said that it hurt so much and asked if he was going to die (?!?!). Even with me prying his eye lid open and peering in there with a flashlight, I couldn't see what was bothering him. It was decided that after 45 minutes with Kael unable to open his eye, slight swelling, profuse tearing and still slightly hysterical, that we would go to the Urgent Care to have it looked at.
THE ER
I have never been to the Urgent Care. Hell, I don't even know where it is. However, while Shana hasn't been what I call a regular visitor, let's just say she knows her way around there. She directed me to the nearest Urgent Care, about 13 minutes away. Unfortunately, Urgent Care there really means "Urgent Care on Sunday until 5pm -- after that you're out of luck." Can they still call it "Urgent" if that's the case?! Anyway, we then head to St. Joseph's ER as Kael's eye is still swollen, he still can't open it and he says he's still in tremendous pain. We get there, I check in, Truong sits down with Kael in his lap. After I get all the paperwork done and submitted, I sit down next to Truong. That's when Kael started peppering me with questions. Mostly pertaining to why this place looks so different from his pediatrician's office. It was then that I noticed his eye is open and he's looking around. Truong and I share a "Are you kidding me?!" look. I asked Kael about his eye and was told that when it hurts, he closes his eye, but it's not hurting anymore so he can open it now.
Yeah, I'll bet...
Just great. After all that and he's fine. I question him a bit more and he said it still hurt a bit but not as bad. Since we were there, I decide to see the doctor anyway to rule out any kind of corneal abrasion. After a total time of 90 minutes, with the registrar telling me it must be fun having Kael at home because he's so "inquisitive" and the doctor and his nurse bascically telling me the same thing because he unloaded the questions on them during the eye exam (what's that mirror? why are you putting drops in my eye? what's the light for? why is that light blue? what do you see? why do you have to look in there?), it was ruled that Kael did indeed have something in his eye but it wasn't there anymore. However, due to his vigorous rubbing, he had multiple scratches on the top half of his cornea, causing him pain. The treatment is an antibiotic ointment in the eye, 4 times a day for 5 days. Hopefully the ointment will do the trick otherwise I have to take him in to see his regular pediatrician.
And so concludes our Sunday. Another week begins tomorrow. Yahoo!
THE BEACH
It was decided at 9:00pm last night that we'd head to the beach today. With a late phone call to Christina, our party of 4 increased by 3 to a party of 7 for a day of fun in the sand and sun. Truong left for a round of golf at 5:30am this morning and while he was gone, I got a phone call from Shana. Turns out Gina got the mystery DiDodo fever last night so Patrick's plan of taking his kids to Huntington Beach to watch the ProAM surfing contest was tanked. So I invited the DiDodo Boys to come to Corona del Mar with us. That bumped our beach group by 2, making it a total of 9 beach goers. Truong came home from golfing, saw our neighbor Charlie outside doing something and invited them too. I guess Charlie's wife (with a brand new #3) was cool with the boys getting out of her hair and granted them permission, increasing the party by another 3 - a grand total of 12. Whew! Larger than we planned but the more the merrier.
The kids had a great time. Digging trenches, boogie boarding, making a moat, body surfing - they did it all. Well, almost everyone had a great time. Malia had a so-so time. She is definitely not a beach bunny. The surf was pretty high today and under normal circumstances she's not enthralled with waves anyway, so today she really didn't want anything to do with them. For Malia to enjoy the beach, you'd have took away the surf and basically make the ocean a large pool. By 1:00pm, she was ready to go home -- as demonstrated by her wrapping herself around Truong and telling him: "Daddy, Mia tired. Mia want ice cream."
The bigger kids (and Trevor) were having a great time so we didn't leave there until close to 3:00pm. Kael did not nap at all and Malia only napped for about 40 minutes so I knew tonight was going to be pretty rough.
THE EYE
After an early dinner where Kael all but fell asleep in his food, I let the kids wind down by watching a bit of TV while we cleaned up. All of a sudden Kael ran to me screaming "MY EYE! MY EYE!" His hands are furiously rubbing his left eye and tears are running down his face. I try to get him to stop rubbing in fear of him damaging his eye but something must have really been stuck in there because in the end, both Truong and I had to restrain him. Over the course of 30 minutes, I flushed his eye with water but he was still pretty hysterical, refusing to open his eye. At one point he said that it hurt so much and asked if he was going to die (?!?!). Even with me prying his eye lid open and peering in there with a flashlight, I couldn't see what was bothering him. It was decided that after 45 minutes with Kael unable to open his eye, slight swelling, profuse tearing and still slightly hysterical, that we would go to the Urgent Care to have it looked at.
THE ER
I have never been to the Urgent Care. Hell, I don't even know where it is. However, while Shana hasn't been what I call a regular visitor, let's just say she knows her way around there. She directed me to the nearest Urgent Care, about 13 minutes away. Unfortunately, Urgent Care there really means "Urgent Care on Sunday until 5pm -- after that you're out of luck." Can they still call it "Urgent" if that's the case?! Anyway, we then head to St. Joseph's ER as Kael's eye is still swollen, he still can't open it and he says he's still in tremendous pain. We get there, I check in, Truong sits down with Kael in his lap. After I get all the paperwork done and submitted, I sit down next to Truong. That's when Kael started peppering me with questions. Mostly pertaining to why this place looks so different from his pediatrician's office. It was then that I noticed his eye is open and he's looking around. Truong and I share a "Are you kidding me?!" look. I asked Kael about his eye and was told that when it hurts, he closes his eye, but it's not hurting anymore so he can open it now.
Yeah, I'll bet...
Just great. After all that and he's fine. I question him a bit more and he said it still hurt a bit but not as bad. Since we were there, I decide to see the doctor anyway to rule out any kind of corneal abrasion. After a total time of 90 minutes, with the registrar telling me it must be fun having Kael at home because he's so "inquisitive" and the doctor and his nurse bascically telling me the same thing because he unloaded the questions on them during the eye exam (what's that mirror? why are you putting drops in my eye? what's the light for? why is that light blue? what do you see? why do you have to look in there?), it was ruled that Kael did indeed have something in his eye but it wasn't there anymore. However, due to his vigorous rubbing, he had multiple scratches on the top half of his cornea, causing him pain. The treatment is an antibiotic ointment in the eye, 4 times a day for 5 days. Hopefully the ointment will do the trick otherwise I have to take him in to see his regular pediatrician.
And so concludes our Sunday. Another week begins tomorrow. Yahoo!
Thursday, July 24, 2008
"When does Santa go to sleep?"
What the...? Why does he always save his strange questions for me?! Why doesn't he ever ask Truong?!
I quickly flash back the past 10 minutes to see where, what, who, how this question came to life and I couldn't find the answer. We had just finished showering the kids and were in the process of picking bedtime stories from the pile of library books. For one day, I'd love to peer into his mind to see where/how these questions are formulated.
Anyway, I gave him a slightly puzzled look (with a healthy dose of what now?! mixed in -- I was really really tired and couldn't wait for the kids to go to bed) and said: "What? Santa? Bed? What??! He sleeps like the rest of us, honey! Pick a book, please."
Kael: "But when does he go to sleep?"
It was clear to me that I was going to have to put a little bit of thought into answering this question as he was not going to accept a brush off.
Me: "He sleeps at night like the rest of us. He works during the day making toys. Like how Daddy works during the day and comes home at night. Santa does the same thing. Have you picked out a book yet?"
Kael gets an even more puzzled look on his face. I'm getting a little peeved because all I desperately want now is for them to go to sleep. Malia has been sassing me the past 3 days. She had a huge accident on the bean bag just after dinner. I'm getting more Braxton Hicks contractions. Blub is extremely active at night so I'm getting zero sleep. And I get no nap because Kael's not napping. So I'm tired. Really really tired. And sure, I admit -- more than a little cranky.
I just want them to sleep. And this... this... Santa question is standing in my way of ending a very long day. I look at him and say: "What, honey? Santa sleeps at night like the rest of us. Can we read your story now? Please?!"
Then Kael says (with real puzzlement in his voice): "But Santa gives all the kids their toys at night. How does he do that if he sleeps at night?"
Ugh. Jeez. I was not expecting that one.
I quickly flash back the past 10 minutes to see where, what, who, how this question came to life and I couldn't find the answer. We had just finished showering the kids and were in the process of picking bedtime stories from the pile of library books. For one day, I'd love to peer into his mind to see where/how these questions are formulated.
Anyway, I gave him a slightly puzzled look (with a healthy dose of what now?! mixed in -- I was really really tired and couldn't wait for the kids to go to bed) and said: "What? Santa? Bed? What??! He sleeps like the rest of us, honey! Pick a book, please."
Kael: "But when does he go to sleep?"
It was clear to me that I was going to have to put a little bit of thought into answering this question as he was not going to accept a brush off.
Me: "He sleeps at night like the rest of us. He works during the day making toys. Like how Daddy works during the day and comes home at night. Santa does the same thing. Have you picked out a book yet?"
Kael gets an even more puzzled look on his face. I'm getting a little peeved because all I desperately want now is for them to go to sleep. Malia has been sassing me the past 3 days. She had a huge accident on the bean bag just after dinner. I'm getting more Braxton Hicks contractions. Blub is extremely active at night so I'm getting zero sleep. And I get no nap because Kael's not napping. So I'm tired. Really really tired. And sure, I admit -- more than a little cranky.
I just want them to sleep. And this... this... Santa question is standing in my way of ending a very long day. I look at him and say: "What, honey? Santa sleeps at night like the rest of us. Can we read your story now? Please?!"
Then Kael says (with real puzzlement in his voice): "But Santa gives all the kids their toys at night. How does he do that if he sleeps at night?"
Ugh. Jeez. I was not expecting that one.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Potty Training Gone Awry
I think I missed the window with potty training Malia. For the longest time she was willing and able to PT but somewhere, somehow the PT boat sailed off without me. I didn't want the kids to be completely bored at home for the summer so I made sure we had stuff to do but knowing that Malia needed to be PT'ed, I was careful not to over-schedule.
Somehow that didn't happen.
Add on to me being lazy and Malia being so particular about what potty she wanted to use, it was a recipe for failure.
First, we have a nice white potty. The Baby Bjorn potty that was Kael's. Unfortunately we only have one. At one point we had three but beats the heck out of me where the other two went. The one we did have stayed upstairs where she religiously peed in before hitting the showers at night. The problem came up when we were downstairs during the day. I wasn't about run upstairs every 10 minutes, carrying a 2 year old, 7 months pregnant whenever she thought she had to tinkle. Only to get there, pull down her panties, and then be told that she's changed her mind.
No. I'm smarter than that. That only happened a couple of times before I said "Forget it, sister -- pee in your diaper!" Then I felt bad. My daughter wants to use the potty so why am I stopping her? So I brought the potty downstairs. I actually thought of this first but I kept forgetting to bring the potty downstairs and the thought of dragging myself back upstairs to retrieve it was not on my list of desirable things to accomplish while being this pregnant.
The potty did eventually come downstairs. You'd think this would solve the problem, right? Wrong. In Malia's world, the white potty belongs upstairs and she refused to use it downstairs.
Count to 10. Slowly. Count again.
Then Shana told me I could have Gina's potty (also a Baby Bjorn) since Gina doesn't like it. Great! My life will be much easier -- and $25 richer since I don't have to go buy another potty. Shana's such an awesome friend. The thing is she failed to tell me it's red. Fire engine red. And you all know how much Malia loves color.
So now we've got 2 potties. Malia's so enamoured with the red potty that she's now refusing to use the white potty altogether.
Mother of.... This child is going to be the death of me. And to think at one point in time, I thought her color fascination was cute.
I switched the potties a couple of times to confuse her and after about 3 switches, I've now got the red downstairs since that's where we are most of the time and the white upstairs. She's been using the red pretty well but I can't remember the last time she's peed in the white. She will sit on it just to get Mom to shut up but will jump off and pee on the carpet.
Count to 15. Slowly. Do it again.
That was 2 weeks ago. I've decided that since I've got about 7 weeks until D-Day, I better get off my butt and get this child trained. So now whenever we're home, she's in panties.
The thing is: the potty fascination has worn off. She can really give a rat's a$$ about the potty now. Plus she's a dribbler. Meaning she goes 5 drops now, 4 drops in 5 minutes, 7 drops in 6 minutes. So she's constantly hopping on and off the potty. I *think* she does that on purpose to get M&M's. I'm not sure but I can fully see her turning her wheels, scheming ways to get more green and blue M&M's. And if that means doling out pee like a Mr. Scrooge, then that's what she's going to do.
Last week -- she's willing to sit on the potty... but refuses to wear panties. In fact, she's got it in her head that when you potty, you take off all your clothes. And she got that from Kael because when he goes #2, he does it naked. So now she's running around naked which makes me totally uncomfortable because at least with panties, there's a little bit of a barrier between where the general population sits and a potential pee disaster. But try as I might, she refuses to wear panties. If I insist on panties, she will claim that she's got to pee so off they go again. On and off. On and off. It's gotten to be a battle of wills: she's perfectly content to goof around on the potty as long as that means she doesn't have to wear panties. I've seen her scoot around the house with her ass on that potty just so she can stay naked. Today she was hoarding books and toys around herself, while on the potty. And the potty is totally clean. She doesn't have to pee. She just has to be naked.
I swear this girl has got me running in circles.
Today she did a scene straight out of the Pussycat Dolls. She was completely naked (of course) and sat backwards on the potty, legs straddling the pot. We were listening to music on XFM Radio and she did the best naked dance while writhing on the potty. It was awesome. I'm a little concerned that she looked so natural doing it. When you add to that the fact that we were listening to World Music and the track that was on came from India, it was the funniest thing I've ever seen.
So yeah. I'm pretty comfortable with my decision to hold off on preschool for her. She needs to be potty trained and it looks like I now have to get her to keep her clothes on too.
Somehow that didn't happen.
Add on to me being lazy and Malia being so particular about what potty she wanted to use, it was a recipe for failure.
First, we have a nice white potty. The Baby Bjorn potty that was Kael's. Unfortunately we only have one. At one point we had three but beats the heck out of me where the other two went. The one we did have stayed upstairs where she religiously peed in before hitting the showers at night. The problem came up when we were downstairs during the day. I wasn't about run upstairs every 10 minutes, carrying a 2 year old, 7 months pregnant whenever she thought she had to tinkle. Only to get there, pull down her panties, and then be told that she's changed her mind.
No. I'm smarter than that. That only happened a couple of times before I said "Forget it, sister -- pee in your diaper!" Then I felt bad. My daughter wants to use the potty so why am I stopping her? So I brought the potty downstairs. I actually thought of this first but I kept forgetting to bring the potty downstairs and the thought of dragging myself back upstairs to retrieve it was not on my list of desirable things to accomplish while being this pregnant.
The potty did eventually come downstairs. You'd think this would solve the problem, right? Wrong. In Malia's world, the white potty belongs upstairs and she refused to use it downstairs.
Count to 10. Slowly. Count again.
Then Shana told me I could have Gina's potty (also a Baby Bjorn) since Gina doesn't like it. Great! My life will be much easier -- and $25 richer since I don't have to go buy another potty. Shana's such an awesome friend. The thing is she failed to tell me it's red. Fire engine red. And you all know how much Malia loves color.
So now we've got 2 potties. Malia's so enamoured with the red potty that she's now refusing to use the white potty altogether.
Mother of.... This child is going to be the death of me. And to think at one point in time, I thought her color fascination was cute.
I switched the potties a couple of times to confuse her and after about 3 switches, I've now got the red downstairs since that's where we are most of the time and the white upstairs. She's been using the red pretty well but I can't remember the last time she's peed in the white. She will sit on it just to get Mom to shut up but will jump off and pee on the carpet.
Count to 15. Slowly. Do it again.
That was 2 weeks ago. I've decided that since I've got about 7 weeks until D-Day, I better get off my butt and get this child trained. So now whenever we're home, she's in panties.
The thing is: the potty fascination has worn off. She can really give a rat's a$$ about the potty now. Plus she's a dribbler. Meaning she goes 5 drops now, 4 drops in 5 minutes, 7 drops in 6 minutes. So she's constantly hopping on and off the potty. I *think* she does that on purpose to get M&M's. I'm not sure but I can fully see her turning her wheels, scheming ways to get more green and blue M&M's. And if that means doling out pee like a Mr. Scrooge, then that's what she's going to do.
Last week -- she's willing to sit on the potty... but refuses to wear panties. In fact, she's got it in her head that when you potty, you take off all your clothes. And she got that from Kael because when he goes #2, he does it naked. So now she's running around naked which makes me totally uncomfortable because at least with panties, there's a little bit of a barrier between where the general population sits and a potential pee disaster. But try as I might, she refuses to wear panties. If I insist on panties, she will claim that she's got to pee so off they go again. On and off. On and off. It's gotten to be a battle of wills: she's perfectly content to goof around on the potty as long as that means she doesn't have to wear panties. I've seen her scoot around the house with her ass on that potty just so she can stay naked. Today she was hoarding books and toys around herself, while on the potty. And the potty is totally clean. She doesn't have to pee. She just has to be naked.
I swear this girl has got me running in circles.
Today she did a scene straight out of the Pussycat Dolls. She was completely naked (of course) and sat backwards on the potty, legs straddling the pot. We were listening to music on XFM Radio and she did the best naked dance while writhing on the potty. It was awesome. I'm a little concerned that she looked so natural doing it. When you add to that the fact that we were listening to World Music and the track that was on came from India, it was the funniest thing I've ever seen.
So yeah. I'm pretty comfortable with my decision to hold off on preschool for her. She needs to be potty trained and it looks like I now have to get her to keep her clothes on too.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Wild Rivers
It's been a busy summer so I'm lagging on blog posting. Then you add me getting more and more tired as I get bigger and bigger -- heck you're lucky I'm even posting at this time of night!
Thanks to Christina, this week's highlight was the trip the Wild Rivers -- a pretty cool water park in Irvine. Christina and Shana have been going since June but I've been reluctant to go for various reasons: too hot, too big of a crowd, I'm out numbered with my own kids and (here's the real reason) I'm big and fat -- who wants to see me in a swimming suit anyway?!
Monday I bit the bullet and went. I'm sure it helped that Shana called me at 6:45am and got me to go with her. Hell, at 7.5 months pregnant and not getting any sleep because I'm getting up to pee 4 times a night and Blub rocking out so much I can't sleep anyway, I'd say anything to get her off the phone at 6:45 in the freaking morning so I can get back to sleep!
So we went: me and my 2 kids, Shana and her 3 kids, and Hammie and Ed (Shana's parents). Honestly, I was swayed into going knowing that Hammie and Ed would be there to help keep an eye on the kids. I didn't know how my kids would do and I was worried about the large crowds at the park.
Turns out I had nothing to worry about. Kael did great -- he was content playing with Ryan or swimming by himself and I was comfortable leaving him with the instructions of "Mommy is going over there where I can't see you. Make sure you stick by Ms. Shana, Hammie, Mr. Ed..." He's at an age where he understands that and (most importantly) obeys it.
I kept Malia by my side and she was thrilled to play in the 1.5 foot kiddie pool. It was kind of nice: I didn't have to chase her down or wedge myself in some ridiculously small slide. I just sat in the kiddie pool, much like a fat seal basking in the sun at low tide. She loved "swimming" so much that I couldn't get her out of there to eat or go to the bathroom or try any of the other pools. Taking her out to go home was a fight even though she was bone tired. She slumped over in the car seat like a drunkard and was fast asleep within 3 minutes of pulling out.
We went again today (Wednesday) and this time we added Linda and Audrey, Christina and Mikayla, and Cindy and her crew of 4 kids to the group. The kids had a blast and even though I didn't want to stay until 2pm again, I didn't have the heart to take the kids home before everybody else. It would have been like: Look at the pregnant lady dragging her kids away kicking and screaming. So we stayed until 2:00pm. Again.
I bought a season pass so we plan on going. Again.
On Friday. As in this Friday. I have to make the pass worth the money, right?
I know. It's nuts. But the kids have such a great time. With Blub making an appearance in about 8 weeks, who knows when I'll be able to do this? Heck, with 3 kids, there's a chance I probably won't even leave the house during the week!
Luckily Shana brought her camera and took some pictures.
Thanks to Christina, this week's highlight was the trip the Wild Rivers -- a pretty cool water park in Irvine. Christina and Shana have been going since June but I've been reluctant to go for various reasons: too hot, too big of a crowd, I'm out numbered with my own kids and (here's the real reason) I'm big and fat -- who wants to see me in a swimming suit anyway?!
Monday I bit the bullet and went. I'm sure it helped that Shana called me at 6:45am and got me to go with her. Hell, at 7.5 months pregnant and not getting any sleep because I'm getting up to pee 4 times a night and Blub rocking out so much I can't sleep anyway, I'd say anything to get her off the phone at 6:45 in the freaking morning so I can get back to sleep!
So we went: me and my 2 kids, Shana and her 3 kids, and Hammie and Ed (Shana's parents). Honestly, I was swayed into going knowing that Hammie and Ed would be there to help keep an eye on the kids. I didn't know how my kids would do and I was worried about the large crowds at the park.
Turns out I had nothing to worry about. Kael did great -- he was content playing with Ryan or swimming by himself and I was comfortable leaving him with the instructions of "Mommy is going over there where I can't see you. Make sure you stick by Ms. Shana, Hammie, Mr. Ed..." He's at an age where he understands that and (most importantly) obeys it.
I kept Malia by my side and she was thrilled to play in the 1.5 foot kiddie pool. It was kind of nice: I didn't have to chase her down or wedge myself in some ridiculously small slide. I just sat in the kiddie pool, much like a fat seal basking in the sun at low tide. She loved "swimming" so much that I couldn't get her out of there to eat or go to the bathroom or try any of the other pools. Taking her out to go home was a fight even though she was bone tired. She slumped over in the car seat like a drunkard and was fast asleep within 3 minutes of pulling out.
We went again today (Wednesday) and this time we added Linda and Audrey, Christina and Mikayla, and Cindy and her crew of 4 kids to the group. The kids had a blast and even though I didn't want to stay until 2pm again, I didn't have the heart to take the kids home before everybody else. It would have been like: Look at the pregnant lady dragging her kids away kicking and screaming. So we stayed until 2:00pm. Again.
I bought a season pass so we plan on going. Again.
On Friday. As in this Friday. I have to make the pass worth the money, right?
I know. It's nuts. But the kids have such a great time. With Blub making an appearance in about 8 weeks, who knows when I'll be able to do this? Heck, with 3 kids, there's a chance I probably won't even leave the house during the week!
Luckily Shana brought her camera and took some pictures.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Evolution vs. Creationism
The running question for Kael the past three or four weeks has been a pretty good one. Even I'm pretty impressed.
As you all know he's our science and nature boy. His interest in dinosaurs comes and goes, depending on what he's watched on TV or pretend played with his friends. At the same time, with no little amount of worry on my end, he's been interested in where babies come from, how they get there, who can make babies, etc. because of Blub. Then you add his interest in space and planets and other life forms -- and his questions become pretty interesting and more often than not, a little confusing.
Sometime last month, he connected the dots (all of them) and asked me where we were when dinosaurs were around. I told him that there weren't any people around, that people didn't exist yet. I was prepared to explain about fossils and excavation sites and offered to take him to see dinosaur bones at the Natural History Museum.
That would have been the easy question. But no. Nothing with my children ever comes easy.
Instead he reasoned it out in his head (speaking out loud): "If people weren't here with the dinosaurs a long long time ago, then who 'borned' us?"
That's Kael talking, by the way.
I thought holy cow. I tried to be vague and said something like "Well, we didn't come until later, after the dinosaurs died." Hoping against all hope that would be enough.
Kael, like a dog with a bone: "So if we came after the dinosaurs died, then who was our mommy? Who had babies in their tummy? How were we borned? Were there buildings like this?"
I couldn't believe it. My kid is not even 5 years old and he's already asking about evolution?! That's what schools are for! So I wouldn't have to worry about stuff like this! Like Sex Ed! This topic isn't even covered in Crystal's and Jimmy's WHY? book. I know because I looked!
My thoughts swirled in my head. Do I even want to enter the realm of introducing the basics of the primordial soup -- and open a whole 10 gallon can of worms? Or should I just take the easy way out and explain Creationism and leave it as the work of the Divine Creator -- thus allowing me to use that as an answer to everything?
Of course it would have to be the former because if I answered with the latter (Creationism) Truong would have a conniption fit.
In the end, I took the coward's way out and told him to ask his Chu Ty (Uncle Thien) -- the uncle who works in the Evolution and Ecology Department at UC Davis. The one whose job is all about evolution and the one who would be able to answer all the questions that I know will arise once Kael gets his answer to who borned us.
So Thien, if you are reading this, be prepared...
As you all know he's our science and nature boy. His interest in dinosaurs comes and goes, depending on what he's watched on TV or pretend played with his friends. At the same time, with no little amount of worry on my end, he's been interested in where babies come from, how they get there, who can make babies, etc. because of Blub. Then you add his interest in space and planets and other life forms -- and his questions become pretty interesting and more often than not, a little confusing.
Sometime last month, he connected the dots (all of them) and asked me where we were when dinosaurs were around. I told him that there weren't any people around, that people didn't exist yet. I was prepared to explain about fossils and excavation sites and offered to take him to see dinosaur bones at the Natural History Museum.
That would have been the easy question. But no. Nothing with my children ever comes easy.
Instead he reasoned it out in his head (speaking out loud): "If people weren't here with the dinosaurs a long long time ago, then who 'borned' us?"
That's Kael talking, by the way.
I thought holy cow. I tried to be vague and said something like "Well, we didn't come until later, after the dinosaurs died." Hoping against all hope that would be enough.
Kael, like a dog with a bone: "So if we came after the dinosaurs died, then who was our mommy? Who had babies in their tummy? How were we borned? Were there buildings like this?"
I couldn't believe it. My kid is not even 5 years old and he's already asking about evolution?! That's what schools are for! So I wouldn't have to worry about stuff like this! Like Sex Ed! This topic isn't even covered in Crystal's and Jimmy's WHY? book. I know because I looked!
My thoughts swirled in my head. Do I even want to enter the realm of introducing the basics of the primordial soup -- and open a whole 10 gallon can of worms? Or should I just take the easy way out and explain Creationism and leave it as the work of the Divine Creator -- thus allowing me to use that as an answer to everything?
Of course it would have to be the former because if I answered with the latter (Creationism) Truong would have a conniption fit.
In the end, I took the coward's way out and told him to ask his Chu Ty (Uncle Thien) -- the uncle who works in the Evolution and Ecology Department at UC Davis. The one whose job is all about evolution and the one who would be able to answer all the questions that I know will arise once Kael gets his answer to who borned us.
So Thien, if you are reading this, be prepared...
Monday, July 7, 2008
"Is he a pretending to be a genie?"
Well, he did it.
He made his first public embarrassing question about another person.
It was inevitable. I've been living in fear of Kael's questions and worry about what comes out of his mouth whenever we see something out of the ordinary, fretting about whether I'd be able to handle the situation with grace. I am just surprised it didn't come earlier, given Kael's curious and observant nature.
We went for a pre-bedtime walk. The weather was nice, the kids behaved (for the most part). It was a lot more peaceful once Malia decided she wanted to walk and left Kael alone in the Chariot. He was on a scavenger hunt and had with him a pad of paper and a pencil. He was diligently drawing whatever object of interest caught his eye: a rock, a flower, a tree, the leaves, a spiderweb, birds, the moon.
We made it all the way around and were in the home stretch. The people who live down the street were outside in the front yard. A couple of kids were playing badminton and the grandfather was pruning some bushes. We exchanged some hello's and smiles. We were almost past them when Kael asked (in a very loud voice):
"Is that man pretending to be a genie?"
As you can imagine, the family was of either Indian or Middle Eastern descent and the grandfather was wearing a turban. I didn't know what to say so I didn't say anything, hoping that Truong would step up to the plate and offer something -- anything. But no. He remained silent too. So I prayed that Grandfather didn't hear Kael's question.
I was mortified. And since we didn't say anything, Kael repeated the question:
"Why is he pretending to be a genie?"
Omigod. I knew I had to say something before Kael yelled it out again but really didn't know what to say so I made sure whatever it was I said, was said in a very soft tone of voice so it wouldn't be heard, in case it was a wrong explanation. At the same time, I tried to casually pick up the pace without looking like I was running away, which was what I really wanted to do.
Me: "No, Kael. He's wearing a turban. That's something he wears because that's where's he's from."
Truong: "Yeah, Kael. Like how I wear a hat. That's his hat."
I made some mention of it being like a sheet but I remembered reading somewhere that referring to the turban as a sheet was a no-no so I sort of let that comment taper off and die, hoping that Kael didn't catch it and ask about wearing sheets on one's head.
By this time we were 2 houses away and Kael seemed satisfied with our comments. So all in all, it wasn't too bad. It could have been worse. I do wish his first question was about someone we didn't see all the time so the embarrassment wouldn't be relived every time we went for a walk.
Anyway, I'm searching on-line tonight to better educate myself about the turban so I can properly explain it to Kael tomorrow. I don't want him to ask the genie question again tomorrow night if we run into Grandfather again.
I remember a few weeks ago we were helped at the library by a librarian with an eye patch. Granted the patch was skin colored and she was wearing glasses so at first glance you noticed something was off but couldn't really tell until you realize she's only got one eye. I was in agony, waiting for Kael to ask about it but luckily he was more interested in the summer reading program to notice.
Thank goodness for small favors.
He made his first public embarrassing question about another person.
It was inevitable. I've been living in fear of Kael's questions and worry about what comes out of his mouth whenever we see something out of the ordinary, fretting about whether I'd be able to handle the situation with grace. I am just surprised it didn't come earlier, given Kael's curious and observant nature.
We went for a pre-bedtime walk. The weather was nice, the kids behaved (for the most part). It was a lot more peaceful once Malia decided she wanted to walk and left Kael alone in the Chariot. He was on a scavenger hunt and had with him a pad of paper and a pencil. He was diligently drawing whatever object of interest caught his eye: a rock, a flower, a tree, the leaves, a spiderweb, birds, the moon.
We made it all the way around and were in the home stretch. The people who live down the street were outside in the front yard. A couple of kids were playing badminton and the grandfather was pruning some bushes. We exchanged some hello's and smiles. We were almost past them when Kael asked (in a very loud voice):
"Is that man pretending to be a genie?"
As you can imagine, the family was of either Indian or Middle Eastern descent and the grandfather was wearing a turban. I didn't know what to say so I didn't say anything, hoping that Truong would step up to the plate and offer something -- anything. But no. He remained silent too. So I prayed that Grandfather didn't hear Kael's question.
I was mortified. And since we didn't say anything, Kael repeated the question:
"Why is he pretending to be a genie?"
Omigod. I knew I had to say something before Kael yelled it out again but really didn't know what to say so I made sure whatever it was I said, was said in a very soft tone of voice so it wouldn't be heard, in case it was a wrong explanation. At the same time, I tried to casually pick up the pace without looking like I was running away, which was what I really wanted to do.
Me: "No, Kael. He's wearing a turban. That's something he wears because that's where's he's from."
Truong: "Yeah, Kael. Like how I wear a hat. That's his hat."
I made some mention of it being like a sheet but I remembered reading somewhere that referring to the turban as a sheet was a no-no so I sort of let that comment taper off and die, hoping that Kael didn't catch it and ask about wearing sheets on one's head.
By this time we were 2 houses away and Kael seemed satisfied with our comments. So all in all, it wasn't too bad. It could have been worse. I do wish his first question was about someone we didn't see all the time so the embarrassment wouldn't be relived every time we went for a walk.
Anyway, I'm searching on-line tonight to better educate myself about the turban so I can properly explain it to Kael tomorrow. I don't want him to ask the genie question again tomorrow night if we run into Grandfather again.
I remember a few weeks ago we were helped at the library by a librarian with an eye patch. Granted the patch was skin colored and she was wearing glasses so at first glance you noticed something was off but couldn't really tell until you realize she's only got one eye. I was in agony, waiting for Kael to ask about it but luckily he was more interested in the summer reading program to notice.
Thank goodness for small favors.
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Malia Facts
While visiting my family in San Jose for the 4th, I thought I'd share some Malia facts that I've learned.
Malia Fact #1
Never pack while she's awake. Especially when it involves Pink Horsey, Purple Tiger, Mermaid Blanket and Mermaid Pillow. Yes, all of the aforementioned items came with us to San Jose. These were the last items we needed to pack as we left Thursday at 2:00pm. For obvious reasons I didn't pack them the night before. So while Kael was in school, I did the final packing of toileteries, pillows, books, etc. Malia FREAKED OUT when she saw me take Mermaid Blanket off her bed, fold it and stuff it in the duffel bag. Can you image her reaction when (while yelling at me) she pulled MB out of the duffle bag... to discover Horsey and Tiger in there too? She about shat in her pants. She then emptied the duffle bag to make sure I didn't have anything else of hers in there. It was a mess.
Malia Fact #2
She will always pick the brighter colored article of clothing to wear. Doesn't matter what it is. Given a choice between a white zip-up jacket and a red jacket, she will always pick the red jacket. Over the course of 4 days, she will always pick the red jacket so you better make sure it remains clean because she will wear it even if it's covered in food, milk and mud.
Malia Fact #3
Fact #2 can be trumped if you can convince her with a "Mermaid colored" item. Meaning something usually in the shades of blue, green or aqua. Say something like "Ohhh! Look it's a Mermaid Blue shirt! How pretty! Just like a Mermaid!" Then she will usually opt for the blue, green or aqua item.
Disclaimer to Fact #3
While this tactic will work with a lot of different colors (i.e. Mermaid Pink, Mermaid Yellow, etc.) its success rate is about 60%. We have hair clips in multi colors (to go with any outfit) but she will only wear the Mermaid Clip (the aqua ones). Unfortunately, out of the 12 clips we have, only 2 are aqua. And since she knows that she's got the aqua clips, she won't wear anything else. I have been able to convince her a handful of times to wear Mermaid Pink and Mermaid Red, those colored clips always come off within 15 minutes with a request for the Mermaid Clip. I'm screwed if I lose those 2 clips.
Malia Fact #4
Malia is the most chatty right before she sleeps. Since she's no longer sleeping in isolation in the closet, I have to lie down with her otherwise she will roam the room at my parents' house. Luckily for us, our schedule up here has been so screwy (with no to little nap) that by the time it's the kids' bedtime, it's really late (9:30 - 10:00pm) and they are dead tired and go down with little to no fuss. Today (Sunday) is the first time since Wednesday that we've had a real set nap for Malia. I suppose you can count the car nap (90 minutes) Thursday afternoon but in terms of a nap in a room in a bed, today was the first. I didn't think she'd actually nap because of the rate of words coming out her mouth. I actually was going to give her 30 minutes to fall asleep otherwise I was going to toss her in the pool with the older kids. Luckily for me, her chatting peaked at 10 minutes and then 2 minutes later she was dead to the world. I've noticed this at home too: she's the most chatty right before she drifts off. Like she's got to get all the words out of her head to clear it before she can sleep.
Malia Fact #5
Her purple Crocs are the only things she will wear. If you try to put anything else on her feet she will eventually kick them off and ask for the Crocs. This is quite irritating especially when we are at the park and don't have the Crocs in my back pocket. She will prefer to go barefeet or in her socks across wood chips than wear feet gear that are not her purple Crocs.
Well, that's all I have time to blog for now. Kael and his cousins have been horsing around in the pool for about 2 hours now so I think it's about time to bring them in. Kael is going to be dog tired which is good and bad news. Good because that means he will sleep well tonight. Bad because until he actually goes to bed tonight, he may be in a horrible mood because he's so dog tired.
I hope you all have a great 4th of July. I'll post about ours later.
Malia Fact #1
Never pack while she's awake. Especially when it involves Pink Horsey, Purple Tiger, Mermaid Blanket and Mermaid Pillow. Yes, all of the aforementioned items came with us to San Jose. These were the last items we needed to pack as we left Thursday at 2:00pm. For obvious reasons I didn't pack them the night before. So while Kael was in school, I did the final packing of toileteries, pillows, books, etc. Malia FREAKED OUT when she saw me take Mermaid Blanket off her bed, fold it and stuff it in the duffel bag. Can you image her reaction when (while yelling at me) she pulled MB out of the duffle bag... to discover Horsey and Tiger in there too? She about shat in her pants. She then emptied the duffle bag to make sure I didn't have anything else of hers in there. It was a mess.
Malia Fact #2
She will always pick the brighter colored article of clothing to wear. Doesn't matter what it is. Given a choice between a white zip-up jacket and a red jacket, she will always pick the red jacket. Over the course of 4 days, she will always pick the red jacket so you better make sure it remains clean because she will wear it even if it's covered in food, milk and mud.
Malia Fact #3
Fact #2 can be trumped if you can convince her with a "Mermaid colored" item. Meaning something usually in the shades of blue, green or aqua. Say something like "Ohhh! Look it's a Mermaid Blue shirt! How pretty! Just like a Mermaid!" Then she will usually opt for the blue, green or aqua item.
Disclaimer to Fact #3
While this tactic will work with a lot of different colors (i.e. Mermaid Pink, Mermaid Yellow, etc.) its success rate is about 60%. We have hair clips in multi colors (to go with any outfit) but she will only wear the Mermaid Clip (the aqua ones). Unfortunately, out of the 12 clips we have, only 2 are aqua. And since she knows that she's got the aqua clips, she won't wear anything else. I have been able to convince her a handful of times to wear Mermaid Pink and Mermaid Red, those colored clips always come off within 15 minutes with a request for the Mermaid Clip. I'm screwed if I lose those 2 clips.
Malia Fact #4
Malia is the most chatty right before she sleeps. Since she's no longer sleeping in isolation in the closet, I have to lie down with her otherwise she will roam the room at my parents' house. Luckily for us, our schedule up here has been so screwy (with no to little nap) that by the time it's the kids' bedtime, it's really late (9:30 - 10:00pm) and they are dead tired and go down with little to no fuss. Today (Sunday) is the first time since Wednesday that we've had a real set nap for Malia. I suppose you can count the car nap (90 minutes) Thursday afternoon but in terms of a nap in a room in a bed, today was the first. I didn't think she'd actually nap because of the rate of words coming out her mouth. I actually was going to give her 30 minutes to fall asleep otherwise I was going to toss her in the pool with the older kids. Luckily for me, her chatting peaked at 10 minutes and then 2 minutes later she was dead to the world. I've noticed this at home too: she's the most chatty right before she drifts off. Like she's got to get all the words out of her head to clear it before she can sleep.
Malia Fact #5
Her purple Crocs are the only things she will wear. If you try to put anything else on her feet she will eventually kick them off and ask for the Crocs. This is quite irritating especially when we are at the park and don't have the Crocs in my back pocket. She will prefer to go barefeet or in her socks across wood chips than wear feet gear that are not her purple Crocs.
Well, that's all I have time to blog for now. Kael and his cousins have been horsing around in the pool for about 2 hours now so I think it's about time to bring them in. Kael is going to be dog tired which is good and bad news. Good because that means he will sleep well tonight. Bad because until he actually goes to bed tonight, he may be in a horrible mood because he's so dog tired.
I hope you all have a great 4th of July. I'll post about ours later.
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