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.
Monday, July 7, 2008
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.
Friday, June 27, 2008
Names names names
Kael's name choices for Blub are in. He has asked for a brother -- actually he's really wanting a baby brother -- but said having another sister "will be OK but I really want a brother."
I told him I'll see what I can do but it was really up to Daddy.
Anyway we're stumped on names that go with Kael and Malia. Just for kicks I asked Kael what he would name his new baby. Here's what he said:
Boy - Josh
Girl - Mikayla
For those of you who don't know, Josh and Mikayla are his friends so it was cute that he would want to name Blub after his friends. Of course, he only knows who he knows so it wasn't much of a stretch of imagination for him. I am grateful though it wasn't something weird like "Pookey Bear" or "Pink Horsey." I told him that it would be too confusing to have two people named Mikayla and perhaps we should think of another name. But he was pretty adamant about having a Mikayla Mai in the family because "Mikayla is my friend and I love her!"
Can't argue with that. But, still... we're continuing our search to broaden our name pool.
I told him I'll see what I can do but it was really up to Daddy.
Anyway we're stumped on names that go with Kael and Malia. Just for kicks I asked Kael what he would name his new baby. Here's what he said:
Boy - Josh
Girl - Mikayla
For those of you who don't know, Josh and Mikayla are his friends so it was cute that he would want to name Blub after his friends. Of course, he only knows who he knows so it wasn't much of a stretch of imagination for him. I am grateful though it wasn't something weird like "Pookey Bear" or "Pink Horsey." I told him that it would be too confusing to have two people named Mikayla and perhaps we should think of another name. But he was pretty adamant about having a Mikayla Mai in the family because "Mikayla is my friend and I love her!"
Can't argue with that. But, still... we're continuing our search to broaden our name pool.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
"How many more babies are you going to have?"
Guess where that comment came from:
Random people I run into on the street?
Nah. I usually get a "You are brave!" or a "Did you plan it?" In response to the "Did you plan it?" comment, one of these days I'm going to work up the nerve to respond with a "Do you mean did we plan on having unprotected sex and not pulling out? Yes, we did plan that." Just to see their reaction.
Family members?
No. Although I did get a "What?! You're pregnant again? Are you crazy?!" from Truong's sister.
Friends?
Nope again. I got lots of "Congratulations!" with a few "You're nuts and/or brave!" thrown in.
The answer to who said ""How many more babies are you going to have?" would be...
Kael. My 4.5 year old son. Last week on the way home from swimming. Once again another random comment thrown out at me when I least expected it.
I looked at him and said: "WHAT?! What do you mean?"
Kael: "I said: How many more BABIES are you going to HAVE, Mom?"
As if I'm an idiot and did not understand spoken English.
Me: "We're just going to have this last one and then we're done. I'm very happy with having you and Malia and this new baby as our family."
I start getting worried that maybe he was feeling left out, being the oldest.
Kael: "No, I don't think so, Mom."
This was said in a long suffering tone of voice.
Me: "No. Really. This is the last one. No more. I promise. We're done having babies. I'm happy with our family."
WTH was this coming from?!
Kael (with a huge sigh): "No, Mom. I know you're going to have more babies. And then you would have to go to work with Daddy."
Again, said in a tone of the inevitable.
To kill time so I can formulate an appropriate response, I ask him: "How more babies do you think I'm going to have?"
Kael: "I know you're going to have a hundred babies."
A deeper, longer sigh emanates from his little chest.
At this point, I start laughing a bit because I realize this is not stemming from some deep angst of being left out or feeling the competition having another sibling brings. I have no idea where it came from but I don't have to worry about putting another dollar in the Therapy Jar.
I play along: "A hundred babies? Wow. That's a lot of babies."
Kael: "I know. That is a lot of babies, Mom. I just know it. You're going to have a hundred more babies."
Me: "Where do you think we're going to keep all those babies?"
Kael: "Well, we'd have to buy a hundred cars."
Not to mention the worry of having my uterus fall out when I go pee. But I don't mention that to Kael. No need to nail myself in a coffin when I'm still ahead.
Me: "Wow. A hundred cars. That's a lot of cars. Where are we going to park a hundred cars?"
Kael: "That's why you have to go to work with Daddy. So we can buy a bigger house for all the cars."
Ahh. If only life were so simple.
Well, minus the hundred babies part, anyway.
Random people I run into on the street?
Nah. I usually get a "You are brave!" or a "Did you plan it?" In response to the "Did you plan it?" comment, one of these days I'm going to work up the nerve to respond with a "Do you mean did we plan on having unprotected sex and not pulling out? Yes, we did plan that." Just to see their reaction.
Family members?
No. Although I did get a "What?! You're pregnant again? Are you crazy?!" from Truong's sister.
Friends?
Nope again. I got lots of "Congratulations!" with a few "You're nuts and/or brave!" thrown in.
The answer to who said ""How many more babies are you going to have?" would be...
Kael. My 4.5 year old son. Last week on the way home from swimming. Once again another random comment thrown out at me when I least expected it.
I looked at him and said: "WHAT?! What do you mean?"
Kael: "I said: How many more BABIES are you going to HAVE, Mom?"
As if I'm an idiot and did not understand spoken English.
Me: "We're just going to have this last one and then we're done. I'm very happy with having you and Malia and this new baby as our family."
I start getting worried that maybe he was feeling left out, being the oldest.
Kael: "No, I don't think so, Mom."
This was said in a long suffering tone of voice.
Me: "No. Really. This is the last one. No more. I promise. We're done having babies. I'm happy with our family."
WTH was this coming from?!
Kael (with a huge sigh): "No, Mom. I know you're going to have more babies. And then you would have to go to work with Daddy."
Again, said in a tone of the inevitable.
To kill time so I can formulate an appropriate response, I ask him: "How more babies do you think I'm going to have?"
Kael: "I know you're going to have a hundred babies."
A deeper, longer sigh emanates from his little chest.
At this point, I start laughing a bit because I realize this is not stemming from some deep angst of being left out or feeling the competition having another sibling brings. I have no idea where it came from but I don't have to worry about putting another dollar in the Therapy Jar.
I play along: "A hundred babies? Wow. That's a lot of babies."
Kael: "I know. That is a lot of babies, Mom. I just know it. You're going to have a hundred more babies."
Me: "Where do you think we're going to keep all those babies?"
Kael: "Well, we'd have to buy a hundred cars."
Not to mention the worry of having my uterus fall out when I go pee. But I don't mention that to Kael. No need to nail myself in a coffin when I'm still ahead.
Me: "Wow. A hundred cars. That's a lot of cars. Where are we going to park a hundred cars?"
Kael: "That's why you have to go to work with Daddy. So we can buy a bigger house for all the cars."
Ahh. If only life were so simple.
Well, minus the hundred babies part, anyway.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
6 inches
I couldn't believe my eyes.
6 whole inches.
I was in shock but at the same time felt... liberated.
6 inches... of my hair. Chopped off. I hadn't had my hair cut -- seriously cut -- in about 3 years. Since Kael was 20 months and we went to Kauai. It's so much easier to pull everything back into a ponytail and be done with it. Especially with 2 kids.
I've been tired of my long hair for some time now but just didn't have the motivation to cut it. If I cut it, I'd have to actually style it every morning and I wouldn't have my fail-safe pony tail to fall back on. Then one day (yesterday to be precise) I decided to cut it.
In fact, I had to have it cut. I called Lisa my girl but her salon doesn't open on Mondays. She could fit me in Tuesday but Truong's out of town until Wednesday and home late Thursday. What about Friday -- no, she's totally booked and she's got a wedding in Ladera on Saturday.
URGHH!!
So I called up everyone asking for their stylist. And no one could fit me in. I was so disappointed. Then I remembered: Truong's cousin Hau has someone she uses in Little Saigon. Hau has nice hair and is very conscientious about her appearance. So I called Hau. Unfortunately I forgot what rotation she's on (she's in medical school doing a stint in the hospital) and got her just after a 24 hour shift, trying to catch up on sleep.
Yikes. I felt awful. But I have to admit it was interesting talking to her. I doubt she remembered what she said to me and I now know what Hau would sound like if she ever dabbled in any hospital grade pharmaceuticals, slurred speech and all.
Anyway, I got the number and the lady was able to fit me in. Hau in her stupor failed to mention that the lady was nuts. Good with scissors but totally NUTS. She wasn't where she was supposed to be, she gave me wrong directions thus making me 20 minutes late, and while she told me she had to be somewhere at 6:30pm, she had me wait while she had false eyelashes glued on. One lash at a time. And then she said something about something burning in her eye while she cut my hair.
It was an interesting visit. Luckily my kids were on their best behavior. Malia was in the stroller watching a DVD and though Kael's DVD player ran out of juice, he was content to talk to the ladies there. In fact, he chatted with them so much that I could see them shooting me incredulous looks of "Is he like this all the time?!" It was very cute. I don't think those Vietnamese ladies understood his discourse on the different spider species or why his venus flytrap will only drink distilled water but I was relieved to have someone else be the recipient of his constant chatter.
In the end, I got the cut I wanted but I sure didn't look like Ellen Barkin in Ocean's 13. Apparently my hair is too thick and wavy. While I could straighten it, it would still be too thick to be the sleek bob that I so covet. Such is my hair story: always too wavy or too thick for the look I want. But I still liked my new cut.
Truong didn't understand what the hair up my butt was about getting my hair cut but I guess Shana had a chat with him (don't think he didn't tell me, Shana). She convinced him that it was pregnancy hormones, to let me do whatever I needed to do and support me on it, and (this is the best one) to compliment me on the new cut before he said anything else, especially before he started laying into me about dragging the kids everywhere -- otherwise risk having his head bit off.
Let's clear something up, just for the record: I don't think it was pregnancy hormones. I just wanted my hair cut! It's not as if I wanted a pint of ice cream while getting my hair cut.
Geez people!
6 whole inches.
I was in shock but at the same time felt... liberated.
6 inches... of my hair. Chopped off. I hadn't had my hair cut -- seriously cut -- in about 3 years. Since Kael was 20 months and we went to Kauai. It's so much easier to pull everything back into a ponytail and be done with it. Especially with 2 kids.
I've been tired of my long hair for some time now but just didn't have the motivation to cut it. If I cut it, I'd have to actually style it every morning and I wouldn't have my fail-safe pony tail to fall back on. Then one day (yesterday to be precise) I decided to cut it.
In fact, I had to have it cut. I called Lisa my girl but her salon doesn't open on Mondays. She could fit me in Tuesday but Truong's out of town until Wednesday and home late Thursday. What about Friday -- no, she's totally booked and she's got a wedding in Ladera on Saturday.
URGHH!!
So I called up everyone asking for their stylist. And no one could fit me in. I was so disappointed. Then I remembered: Truong's cousin Hau has someone she uses in Little Saigon. Hau has nice hair and is very conscientious about her appearance. So I called Hau. Unfortunately I forgot what rotation she's on (she's in medical school doing a stint in the hospital) and got her just after a 24 hour shift, trying to catch up on sleep.
Yikes. I felt awful. But I have to admit it was interesting talking to her. I doubt she remembered what she said to me and I now know what Hau would sound like if she ever dabbled in any hospital grade pharmaceuticals, slurred speech and all.
Anyway, I got the number and the lady was able to fit me in. Hau in her stupor failed to mention that the lady was nuts. Good with scissors but totally NUTS. She wasn't where she was supposed to be, she gave me wrong directions thus making me 20 minutes late, and while she told me she had to be somewhere at 6:30pm, she had me wait while she had false eyelashes glued on. One lash at a time. And then she said something about something burning in her eye while she cut my hair.
It was an interesting visit. Luckily my kids were on their best behavior. Malia was in the stroller watching a DVD and though Kael's DVD player ran out of juice, he was content to talk to the ladies there. In fact, he chatted with them so much that I could see them shooting me incredulous looks of "Is he like this all the time?!" It was very cute. I don't think those Vietnamese ladies understood his discourse on the different spider species or why his venus flytrap will only drink distilled water but I was relieved to have someone else be the recipient of his constant chatter.
In the end, I got the cut I wanted but I sure didn't look like Ellen Barkin in Ocean's 13. Apparently my hair is too thick and wavy. While I could straighten it, it would still be too thick to be the sleek bob that I so covet. Such is my hair story: always too wavy or too thick for the look I want. But I still liked my new cut.
Truong didn't understand what the hair up my butt was about getting my hair cut but I guess Shana had a chat with him (don't think he didn't tell me, Shana). She convinced him that it was pregnancy hormones, to let me do whatever I needed to do and support me on it, and (this is the best one) to compliment me on the new cut before he said anything else, especially before he started laying into me about dragging the kids everywhere -- otherwise risk having his head bit off.
Let's clear something up, just for the record: I don't think it was pregnancy hormones. I just wanted my hair cut! It's not as if I wanted a pint of ice cream while getting my hair cut.
Geez people!
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