The Freckled Frog

Malia is absolutely loving her new dance class. She's always dancing now except it's not just "dancing" - it's "princess dancing."

Yeah, I know. This whole princess thing is getting out of hand. But she uses her imagination when playing princess and that's what I like to see. I have started saying things like "You're a strong princess" or "What a smart princess you are!" -- hoping that will stick more than the typical "pretty" remarks.


We start with some stretches. She's pretty flexible. Not something that she got from me. Or, come to think of it, her dad...


Doing the "Kitty Walk." I think that's what it's called. She doesn't like this move because it gets her tights dirty. Then she tries to hide her dirty tights because she knows she can't change it.


They were doing some sort of ballet run across the dance floor.


Token picture of Taede. What a good, patient baby! Poor little guy is the family baggage, hauled from one class to another.


Marching, marching! Except Malia is sweeping. We have to work on this move.


Heel-toe. Heel-toe.


Malia and Audrey. They've gotten in trouble once already. And I know it won't be an isolated incident.


Dancing is hard work.


Ribbon dancing. Except it's more like fishing because the ribbons are so long.

Demolition Derby

There have been some requests to see more pictures of the Demolition Derby. Actually, pictures of the Port-A-Potty was requested. I would have liked to see the demolition derby myself. As Erin said today: "You've got a car racing around hauling a Port-A-Potty. It doesn't get any better than that."


Close up of the Port-A-Potty.


The first lap. Everything's still looking pretty good. The potty's out in front.


Uh-oh. The first crash. The Potty's not doing so well.


Oh, the carnage. The carnage!


The remnants of the Port-A-Potty.

Only in America.

I like boys.

Lately when I pick up Malia from school, I've noticed a routine forming. First I get Taede out of the car and into the stroller. We then stroll along the wrought fence, looking for Malia and, yes, spy on her for bit. I'm always curious about what my kids do when not with me. I usually get a gathering following me. I don't know if it's the magnetism of my personality or the lure of "Baby" but I'll have anywhere from 2-4 kids following me along the fence, chatting away.

After 4 weeks of school, some of the kids recognize me and start yelling out "It's Malia's mommy! Where's Malia? Her mommy's here!" Then I hear a high squeal: "Sohn-yah! Sohn-yah!" It's Gina and she's running over with a mile wide smile. We hug through the fence. I lay a careful kiss on her face as it's usually a mess of left-over lunch and sand.

Some of the kids take off looking for Malia to tell her I'm here, if she hadn't come over with Gina. It's really cute.

Today, a little boy came over and started chatting with me. He said he knew where Malia was and started to get her. He actually didn't know where she was and I had to help him out by pointing in the right direction. He ran over and told her I was here and we had our happy reunion through the fence.

I walk through the school to pick her up, give Gina her hugs and kisses... and see the boy hanging out around Malia. I chat with him for a bit then tell him we have to leave. He says bye to Malia and she says bye back. As we leave, the little boys runs up to me and tells me his name. It's Malia's "Little Mean Boy" from the second week of school. Evidently they've made up and are good friends now.

Maybe a little too good because as we say good bye again, she says to me: "Boys are nice now. I like boys."

hmm......

Monster Truck Jam

Five years ago, if you said to me: "Sonya, you're going to buy (with real money, money that your husband worked hard to earn) Monster Truck Jam tickets so that your 5.5 year old son could watch huge ass trucks race around in the dirt, crushing cars..." I would have laughed in your face.

Monster Truck Jam?! Puh-leez!

But thanks to Erin and Josh Bickmeier who last year took my boys to a Monster Jam (where, if you remember, Kael asked if monsters drove the trucks), my kid is now hooked on monster trucks. So yes, I did indeed purchase 2 outrageously expensive Monster Jam tickets for a Father and Son bonding night.

I still can't believe it. Kael had a great time so I think this will be the boys' special time together.

Here are some pictures taken by Truong:


I especially like the Dad and the little baby getting their picture taken at the front of the truck. Maybe I should have let Truong take Taede too.


Kael's favorite truck. I don't know why. I hope it's because of the huge tires and not because of the picture on it.


Grave Digger - the crowd favorite. Pardon Kael eating his granola bar. Remember this is DAD taking the pictures.


We always carry protection.


The track. I'm sure it makes sense to someone. Just not to me.


Grave Digger doing a jump. Or a crush. I guess it's a race of some sort. I'm not sure how points are tallied or how a winner is declared.


Truong's favorite part of the night: the Demolition Derby. These cars are racing around the track, towing whatever the hell they want towards some kind of end goal where a winner is declared. Some are towing boats, one's towing a golf cart and the crowd favorite -- a Port-A-Potty.


What everyone was waiting for: the demolition. The cars and their trailers started loosing control and crashing into each other. The Port-A-Potty was the first to go and got smashed into a million pieces.

< <> sigh <> >
Boys....

I can't wait for Malia to get to an age where we can do some Mother-Daughter bonding... at a spa.

The answer to my prayers.

You all know how much Kael loves to talk and ask questions. I swear the kid talks more to hear himself talk, and less because he's got this insatiable thirst for knowledge. I have to give the kid credit for knowing when I've spaced out, though. There are times when there's a lull in the conversation (talking mostly from Kael, with me trying to filter the important stuff from the fluffy stuff so I can protect my sanity) and he shoots out a completely loaded question from far left field. A loaded question that makes a parent squirm in her car seat.

He'll be talking about some random stuff like the benefits of his Neo Shifter robot transforming this way and that way, when he realizes that I've spaced out. So then he throws out a "Where do babies come from, mom?" Or "Why do the police carry guns? Do they kill people with it? Aren't they bad guys, then?" just to get giggles from my obvious discomfort in trying to find the best way to answer the question without a long prolonged Q&A session. This usually happens in the car, where I'm a captive audience, with no place to hide or distractions to save me.

So yes, the kid's got my number. But, I recently stumbled across the answer to my prayers.

My ipod.

Kael loves it so I downloaded his music onto it (mostly soundtracks from the movies he's seen, like Cars and Madagascar). It took me a few trips to a few different stores find the right earbud that not only fits him but also fits Malia. (She's so funny -- with the earbud on she tells me "Mom, don't talk to me; I'm on the phone!") Once the music is on, and they're both bopping their head to the beat, looking cool -- it's completely silent in the car.

Ahhh... Peace, sweet peace!

Goldfinger

Last week I moved Malia's dance class to a place called the Freckled Frog. It's super cute and best of all... parent participation is not required! There were 6 girls in class with 2 instructors. All the girls were of course as cute as cute can be. I had Taede and Kael with me as it was MLK Day, along with parents of the other 5 girls. So essentially it was a packed house.

The girls line up on their heart place markers and they start doing their dance thing. Malia for some god forsaken reason decides it's time to pick her nose. She couldn't pick at home? In the car? Why now, in the dance studio, when class starts?? Ugh. How embarrassing.

I tell her to stop.

She's still picking.

"Malia! Get your finger out of your nose!"
I'm sort of hissing this at her, trying to be sly about it, hoping no one could hear me. Which is impossible since all the parents are in the little foyer.

She's still picking. But this time she's got her finger turned up, for a better angle.

"Malia! Stop that right now! Get your finger OUT!"
Still trying to be sly, talking through my teeth.

Linda starts to laugh at me.

So now I figure I'm only drawing attention to myself and the situation so I ignore her. And hope that she stops sooner rather than later.

But nope. She's knuckle deep, seriously digging for gold. Does it get any more embarrassing than this? Does it?!

Why do I even bother asking myself that question. I already know the answer.

She finally dislodged what she was picking at and (with her little pointer finger standing straight up) calls out: "Mommy! I got a booger!"

I do the ignoring thing but it doesn't work. She thinks that I can't hear her and so she says even louder: "MOMMY! I HAVE... A BOOGER!" And sticks her arm out with the finger up, showing me the booger.

Linda is about to pee in her pants, she's laughing so hard. And I don't know what to do. I've got Taede in my arms. She's in the middle of the room, surrounded by the other dancers. The class is in the middle of the lesson. All the parents are probably looking at her finger, their eyes unwillingly drawn to the booger. So in desperation, I tell her: "Just wipe it on your shirt!"

And she does. Finally she's able to concentrate on her dance lesson. Thank goodness.

I don't like boys.

On Tuesday, Malia cried at school. Not because I left her at school or because she was suffering from feelings of abandonment. She cried because after lunch, while on the play equipment, a little boy yelled at her: "Get off! You can't play here! GET OFF!" He was pretty mean -- mean enough to where I (from behind the iron fence, in the parking lot) scolded him for not being nice. I could tell from Malia's face that she was trying to be brave, trying to hold herself together and not cry. I could also tell that she was scared but trying not to show it. She held it together for about a minute, while trying to get off the equipment because that boy was following her while yelling at her. Then she burst into tears and was a sobbing mess. She ran over to me and stuck her arms through the fence, trying to climb onto me but obviously couldn't. I tried unsuccessfully to calm her down before Mrs. Lerma came over to see what was the matter. I ratted on the kid, saying Malia got really scared. Turns out it's a little boy in Malia's class. He's a bit older (around 3.5 years old). Mrs. Lerma called him over and made him apologize but Malia wasn't having any of it. She just wanted to go home.

So I take her home, worrying that our days of Happy Preschool are a thing of the past. She keeps talking about "the little boy at school who yelled at me and made me very sad." Even two days later, "the little boy at school who yelled at me and made me very sad" is still worrying her. I role play with her about what she should do if it happens again: tell him "NO! Don't yell at me. I don't like it!" and go to a teacher. Or don't play with him. Anything to give her a sense of power and control over the situation so she wouldn't be so scared. I also point out the highlights of school: art time, singing circle time, reading, etc. But she's a typical female: she won't ever forget that one bad incident.

Today is Thursday, two days after the mean little boy incident. At lunchtime, Mrs. Lerma invited Malia to sit at a certain spot at the lunch table, which happened to be next to a boy.

Malia refused, saying: "No, I don't like boys."
Mrs. Lerma: "Come on! Sit next to Jefferey, he's very nice!"
Malia: "No, I don't want to sit next to a boy. He's going to yell at me."

Ugh. It broke my heart that she's so twisted up inside... and yet, I kind of had to laugh.

Mrs. Lerma: "No one is going to yell at you. Aman [the kid who did yell at her] is sitting over there. Jefferey is very nice. He won't yell at you."
Malia: "No, I don't like boys. I don't want to sit next to a boy."

In the end, Mrs. Lerma got her to sit next to Jefferey only with the promise that she would sit on the other side of Malia.

I'm torn about the whole situation. I'm sure when she turns into a hormone-ridden 14 years old, I'll appreciate her "I don't like boys" attitude. So do I really want to cure her of this angst?

Or maybe I should put her in a martial arts class so she could pick up some ass kicking skills instead.

The new addition.

My friend Christina just had her baby -- Nicholas Ryan Kendall -- after almost 13 hours of labor. An amazing fact considering this is her third baby. With my third baby, Taede practically flew out, almost taking out our nurse in the process.

Why am I talking about my friend's baby on a blog supposedly dedicated to my kids? Well, I have a confession to make.





NO - I'm not pregnant! Sheesh. And don't pretend that thought didn't pop up in your head.

However... Taede is such a good baby... and the big kids love him so much... and outside of juggling naptimes and big kid pick-ups, having the 3rd baby is easier than I thought... and he's a really good baby... I would be lying if I didn't confess to having some thoughts (some very fleeting thoughts) of enjoying the highs of babyhood one more time. As in evening out the players to 4 total.

But like I said - these are fleeting thoughts. A blip in my musings during the day, while playing with Taede or when I see Malia kissing him.

And if this post doesn't make Truong run screaming to the urologist's office for his Friday night date with a bag of frozen peas, I don't know what will.

-----------------------------

Congratulations to Christina, Ryan, Mikayla and Trevor. And Happy Birthday Nicholas!

Dance Class

We started Dance Class today and it was very cute. A little odd but cute. There's only one other girl in the class so I felt a little conspicuous doing the dance moves with Malia with Taede wrapped on me.

Oh, did I forget to mention that it's a Mommy and Me class? Yes, it's a parent participation class. So imagine me, with Taede on my chest and a huge camera clonking on my neck, trying to take pictures while showing Malia how to do the dance moves.

Yeah, it was great.

Anyway, Malia was very excited to wear her dance stuff and I have to say she looked darling in it. The class was a little slow but what do I know about dance class? I decided to try it for month and we'll re-evaluate whether or not to renew then.


Our little dancer.


Not sure what move she's doing here. Maybe the Butterfly?


She's about as flexible as me.


Check out that smile on her face.


Gratuitous picture of Taede since there's not much going on in his life except for naps. He's such a good baby...

The First Week of School

Malia started preschool on Tuesday and it was hard to leave and not be the stalker mom. I was very sad because I knew I would miss her but at the same time, I was relieved of the guilt feelings I get whenever I leave her alone in the house to take care of Taede.

Truong was able to come with me which was great because I had to figure out how to get Kael to the Big Kids' playground, soothe Taede because it was his naptime, and participate in Malia's Singing Circle Time. All occuring at the same time. Once class started, Malia went to her spot at the art table and started her project. I snapped a few pictures and since I didn't have any other excuse to stay without looking neurotic, decided to leave. I asked her for a kiss and reminded her that I would come back after lunch to pick her up. She said "OK, Mommy."

That was it. "OK, Mommy." She didn't even bother to look at me when she said that.

Truong went in there to say good bye and I thought we'd have a few issues since she's Daddy's Little Girl. The past 2 weeks she's been a monkey on his back and for a split second, I thought it would be better if he just left without saying anything. He walked in, gave her a kiss, told her to have a good day at school.

She said: "Bye."

That was it. Just "Bye." I don't think she looked at him either.

It was a little sad. Obviously I didn't want her to be sad and cry and carry on. But a little emotion would have been OK. Something to show me that she cared. A look? Maybe a hug? Anything??

I go to pick her up, and Shana and I end up sitting in the parking lot, spying on the girls. Malia shares the classroom with Gina, but they have different teachers. That means they share art time and recess, but not circle time or reading time. At lunch, we see the girls playing together which is beyond cute. Gina has been in school since the start of the academic year so she's an old hand at the playground and Malia is just following her around.

Shana tells me that even though Malia didn't cry this morning, she'd bet that the second Malia sees me picking her up, she'd burst into tears. In fact, Shana was so sure of that fact that she bet me a cup of coffee. And you all know me and coffee...

Shana owes me a cup of coffee.

I was so proud of Malia. She ran over to me, but didn't cry. A classmate almost took her down with an around-the-neck hug but she took it in stride. Mrs. Lerma (her teacher) said that she did great in class (minus a potty accident because Malia wanted to (1) potty only with Mom, not Mrs. Lerma and (2) wanted to use the other bathroom that I've been taking her to in anticipation of going to school, not the bathroom for the little little kids in the classroom). She also said Malia did well with the other kids in class. They were all over her, saying how little she is, how cute she is, and "does she talk?" -- as if she was some little doll.

In the car going home, Malia asked if she could go to school again tomorrow. And she's been asking that same question every morning the entire week. So I'm happy to say that our first week went without a hitch.

People keep telling me that it must be great having all this alone time with Taede now that I've got 2 out of 3 kids in school. Well... it is nice to have some time alone with Taede: I get the car ride home with him and that's about it. His nap starts when instant we arrive home (8:45am) and he naps up until I have to wake him to go pick up Malia (11:00am). After we pick up Malia, it's naptime again, for both kids. That means I get no errand running time. Because when they wake up from their nap, it's time to pick up Kael and there's no way in hell I'm taking 3 kids to the store.


Malia starting her art project.


She's very focused.


She was playing with Gina until Gina wandered off somewhere so Malia climbed on the truck structure. Apparently she doesn't like playing with boys because you can see her wagging her little finger at the kid. I can imagine her saying "No, no, no!"


Can you see the disgruntled look on her face when her space is invaded by not one, but TWO boys? Mrs. Lerma told me that in class a boy named Adam rested his head on her shoulder and Malia gave him a dirty look and said very firmly: "Get. Off. Me!"

That's my girl.

Good thing she's potty trained...

Otherwise she would have peed in her pants!















One of the official Disney photos is of her walking towards the Princesses, around the corner. Up until then, she had no idea what (or who) to expect. The photo shows Malia with her mouth hanging open as she first catches sight of Snow White. It was incredibly sweet. Even with the open mouth.

She doesn't look happy in the pictures, but she really is. That's her "Are you freaking kidding me?!" serious face. It's also her "I need to act cool" face.

Before visiting the Princesses, we visited Pixie Hollow. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of that visit. I was laughing too much at Malia's reaction. We first saw Fawn and Malia was awestruck. So awestruck that she hid behind the stroller. Fawn was so sweet that she ran over and started playing peekaboo with Malia to get her to come out. I ended up being in the picture with them since Malia was too shell-shocked. Next was Tinkerbell. She did much better with Tinkerbell. She gave Tink a hug and showed her her light-up ladybug shoes. Here's the Disney link - hopefully it works.

It was my maiden voyage with Malia and Taede. Luckily Taede sleeps very well in the wrap so it was a pretty easy trip. Since it went well, we'll be doing Disneyland again. We still have to visit Belle and Jasmine...

Christmas and New Year's

We've had a busy 2 weeks. First was our trip to San Jose for Christmas, which we cut short a day due to Malia getting the flu. Which she passed on to Taede and then he passed on to me. Malia is completely healthy. Taede is completely healthy. And me? I sound like an 80 year old smoker, hacking my lungs out. Which I wouldn't really mind if that meant I couldn't cough uncontrollably anymore.

We headed home Friday and on Sunday met my sister and her family at Knott's Berry Farm as my sister decided to spend New Year's with us. Well, "with us" meaning in Southern California since they spent half their time in San Diego. Malia and Kael were thrilled that their cousins stayed at their house, a rare event since we usually travel up north. And they showed their joy by sharing every single toy, upstairs and downstairs, with Jarod, Amelie and Collin. And when sharing toys wasn't enough, they played with the toy bins (which were empty since all the toys were strewn thoughout the house). Conversations amongst adults had to be conducted with shouts to be heard and Taede's white noise machine was cranked up a few notches. We had one day of rest (Tuesday) while the cousins went to Legoland and on Wednesday we met them at the San Diego Zoo. "We" meaning me and the kids since Truong had to work. I was so tired from pushing the Chariot which was loaded down with 2 (lazy) kids while wearing the 3rd on my body, up and down those damn hills at the zoo, that I went to bed at 9:30pm New Year's Eve.

(Sorry, honey - Happy New Year! I love you! )

On Thursday we headed back to San Diego (this time with Truong) and visited the Midway Museum. Not knowing what to expect, I thought we'd spend just half a day there -- how interesting can an aircraft carrier be? Instead, we didn't get home until 8:30pm! Malia had a 20'ish minute nap from Museum to the gas station to the restaurant. That was her only nap all day. Was she crabby at dinner? Umm... I would have to say... YES. Friday we hung out at home and the kids had a great time making a mess of the house. Saturday morning the cousins left.

Whew! What a busy 2 weeks. It feels weird having to get my head back into our regular programming of school and solo parenting. As busy as we were, as crazy and chaotic as the house got with 5 kids, 1 baby and 4 adults, it was a great visit.

Such a great visit that we're doing it again. In February. Yes, they're coming back....