Parent Teacher Conferences

I'm writing this more for myself...

We had our first round of parent teacher conferences for all three kids.

Sam--we had no idea what to expect. During the three years that our girls went to preschool, not once did any of the teachers come up to us to discuss the girls' behavior. But within the first month of school, one of the teachers chased me down to talk about Sam. Apparently, he gets time outs often and doesn't always listen to the teachers. He is one of the youngest kids there and the teachers seem to really enjoy him being there. He is always giving and getting hugs from the teachers and making them laugh. But he is such a clown that he doesn't buck up when he needs to be focused.

During his conference, we learned that he is actually doing quite well in his academics. He knows all his letters and has already learned about 10 phonetic sounds of the letters. His understanding of numbers is also very strong--he can identify 1 through 10, put them in the correct order, and even count objects to a specific number. He likes to chirp in answers when questions are asked to the class, even when he has no idea what the answer is. He definitely throws tantrums and loses it when he is upset but he's two so it is age-appropriate (unfortunately). All in all, we were all pleased with how he is doing. When we watched him during observation (he didn't know we were watching him), he was having a good time doing the montessori activities so that makes us happy too.

Elysha--Her teacher just raved about her artistic abilities--the attention to detail, the composition, the spatial relations--she was saying this it was all a precursor to writing. We flipped through her journal, which she did in preschool too, and it was just so cute. It's nice that she draws happy pictures, where the sun is shining, the sky is blue, and the people are smiling. She is great at writing her letters and writing phonetically. Her teacher thought she was at a first grade level in her writing abilities. What I am noticing about Elysha is that she is really making breakthroughs in her reading. I feel like she is realizing all that Joey has access to by being able to read, so she has been working harder to really read.

For some reason, though, Elysha keeps getting out of PE. She always claims to be sick or sad or miss me or Chang. So the teacher has been allowing her to sit out, or she tells her to take the class mascot (a stuffed animal crab) for a walk around the play yard. Elysha is our little hippie child. She would be happy to just turn in circles with a crown of flowers around her head and skip around chasing butterflies. When she is on the soccer field, she gets distracted by pretty much everything but the game. We are starting to think that perhaps, team sports is not for her. =) We think she has more natural skills than her siblings but she just doesn't have that "killer" instinct to go after the ball or run fast or play hard.

She is also a perfectionist which is both good and bad. She works hard on her drawings, but when it isn't exactly as she envisioned it, she gets so frustrated. But her drawings are just so beautiful and thoughtful. In some sense, this is why she is great at math. There is only one right answer and so arriving at the answer doesn't disturb her. She's right and done--end of story.

Joey--Where do I begin? She has really bloomed this year. Last year, even though she did extremely well academically, she had some issues socially. This year, she doesn't have these issues anymore. She has her group of friends, she gets along with all the kids in her class, and she has this confidence about her that is almost palpable. Chang thinks it has to do with her experience with her drama club last year. I agree that it is in part because of mini-players. But I also think she came into this year with a greater sense of who she is.

She is in a 1st and 2nd grade combination class which is perfect for her. Even as a 2 year old, she insisted on being grouped with older children, believing that she was capable of doing the same level of work. She was able to write her name when she was only two--but I don't think she even knew the alphabet. She just remembered what lines and curves made her name. So in her class now, she is trying to keep up with the 2nd graders. It has been a great challenge for her and she works really hard to get to their level.

Her teacher said she is reading and comprehending at a end of 2nd grade level. She is a really strong writer. Her spelling could be better but I am already amazed at how well she spells considering how poor it was just a year ago. But stylistically, she is a great writer. It is interesting, nicely paced, with a definitive beginning and ending. Her teacher said that out of a high score of 4, she judges her writing to be 3+.

In math, she is also excelling. I had discussions with her regarding placing Joey in 2nd grade math because of Joey's complaints that her math class was too easy and boring. But we talked about it and agreed that it would be better to keep her in the higher level 1st grade math class. Even though it is easy for her, I would rather she have a solid grasp of what she is learning. Every day, the students do a "mad minute" math quiz in which the have to solve 30 problems in 3 minutes. After a student gets a perfect score five times, she can advance to the next level. Joey is on the fourth level.

Her teacher was saying that she is such a joy in the classroom. She said she is the complete student--she excels in the classroom, she is well liked by her peers, she is generous and kind--always willing to give and receive help. I talked to her about having Joey identified as gifted when she is in 3rd grade (the process begins in 2nd grade). She said that she has already has it in mind to have Joey tested as highly gifted at the end of 2nd grade by the Raven test.

Needless to say, we are so proud of all of our kids. It is every parents' dream to hear that our children are excelling, but also that they are happy, liked by their peers, and enjoy their learning environment.

My Swan Song...

As you can tell, I haven't been posting too furiously these days. I think I might be hanging up my blogging cap for a while. It's been fun and I have enjoyed writing again. But I feel like I can barely keep up with everything else.

I toyed with not letting Sam take naps for the last few weeks because he has been staying up after we put him to bed--usually singing in his crib (today he was singing Beyonce's "Single Ladies"). Sometimes he wouldn't sleep for hours.

But the nap moratorium was painful for two reasons. One, my days were 12-13 hour days with no breaks. Two, Sam was excruciatingly grumpy because he didn't nap. Last week, however, Sam finally decided to jump out of his crib, come out of his room, and start unloading the dishwasher in the mornings--which would be fine except he often takes things out of the dishwasher and put his mouth all over it. So we moved him into his toddler bed, decked out with new Disney Car's sheets. Now that Sam knows he can exit his room whenever he wants, he has been waking up at the crack of dawn. Thanks to my brainwashing, he only wants Chang in the morning. So even though Chang has more reason to complain, I am still exhausted by the fact that Sam wakes Chang up earlier than before (cue the rolling of eyes from Chang).

These days, Sam has been a terror (yes, my sweet angel baby is the thorn in my flesh at the moment). I'm sure it is a combination of terrible two's and getting significantly less sleep than before, but I am ready to ship him off to a boarding preschool.

In August, Sam will start preschool, so long as I tackle potty training. But honestly, I am sending him in August, no matter what. I'm sure the teachers will hate me because he will have several accidents daily and he is supposed to be fully potty trained. But I am ready for freedom. I have a long laundry list of things that I want to do--finally get fit and fabulous, clean every nook and corner of my house, and meet friends in the middle of the day for cocktails. That is it--no more lofty goals of going to school or writing a book. I just want to enjoy my freedom. I am envisioning myself breaking into a song as I go along the day. Birds will come and sit on my shoulder, people around me will suddenly dance with me in a choreographed ditty. I want to get dressed every day looking like Carrie Bradshaw--no more mommy uniform for me. I am going to wear heels and carry a gorgeous purse because I finally won't have to worry about carrying diapers or a sippy cup in it. La la la laboutin! I can't wait!

So I might post pictures of my kids on occasion but this could be my swan song. The end of the school year is almost here which means I will have all three kids home with me a lot this summer. Then Elysha will be starting kindergarten, Joey will be in first grade and Sam will be going to school on the other side of town. This means, three different schedules at two different locations. It is going to be crazy and though I will finally be childless for the first time in over six years, it will really only be a couple hours every day and that includes the 90 + minutes I will be driving back and forth between the two schools. Freedom finally, yes, but just a little bit.

It's been fun and I appreciate you coming along in my journey of honest parenting. It sucks sometimes...but I still love them...especially when they are sleeping...

10 Things I Can Live Without...

1) "I'm DONE!!!" announcements coming from the bathroom, implying that whichever child is sitting on the toilet is expecting me to wipe their butt.
2) Going to the bathroom and seeing that a bowel movement was not flushed. It makes me wonder what else was not done after neglecting to flush...
3) Potty Training. Do I really need to go through this torture yet again to be diaper-free for the first time in over six years?
4) Slaving over a hot stove for dinner and then hearing, "Yucky!" It makes me want to serve liver and brussel sprouts for ten days consecutively (I'll give you yucky...).
5) Everyone else getting sick every time one of the kids getting sick.
6) Me getting sick every time everyone else is sick because I don't get any sick days.
7) People giving me the eye when I say I want a margarita at 9 o'clock in the morning.
8) People giving me the eye when I get a margarita at 10 o'clock in the morning.
9) Having to wake up in the middle of the night because Sam is screaming that he can't find his blankie (usually he's lying on top of it but doesn't realize it).
10) Fighting (Elysha told me today that for Mother's Day, she was going to be nice to Joey and not fight with her. "Just for that one day," she said so proudly...can't wait!).

Dinosaur Train Guest Stars

Sometime last year (not sure when since everyday is a blur but I can say with certainty it was last year), I took the kids to the Jim Henson studios to a promotion for mommy bloggers. I thought we were going to preview their new show Dinosaur Train and the kids would sit in the audience. But it turns out, they actually wanted to use our kids for a brief explanation clip after the animated segments. I brought Sam into the recording studio as well but the director took one look at him and asked me how old he was. I said, "almost two," which the director repeated back in a mocking tone. "Does he talk?" he asked. "Not that well, but he can talk," I replied. The director turned to Sam. "Sam, can you say Tyrannosaurus Rex?" Sam looked at him blankly with drool coming down his chin. I immediately picked up Sam and said, "Never mind."

Anyhow, the girls almost didn't pull it off. It was really intimidating being in that big room with all these hot lights on them and a stranger asking them to say words that weren't part of their everyday vocabulary. The director almost kicked out our whole group but decided to give them one last shot. Here are the results (if you just want to watch the girls' segment, move the timeline to 3:50).

Brain Puking Blog Post

Sorry for the long silence. I'm not sure why I haven't been writing. Probably because I am still tired. The kids have been sleeping better though we still get the occasional early morning cry from Sam. I've taught Joey how to tell time so she knows to not come into our room before 7am. Elysha continues to sleep blissfully until she gets woken up. I don't know what it is but I am exhausted.

I've decided to keep the kids home with me for five weeks. If I put the kids in school all summer, it would cost over $6000 for two months. So it makes fiscal sense to have them home with me. I think I can handle it (I think I can, I think I can). I have already devised a daily morning and afternoon schedule for those five weeks in order to keep myself from freaking out. It consists of hikes, beach trips, museum trips, library trips, as well as cooking classes from Chef Mommy and Korean classes from Uhmma (just the alphabet and basic words would be awesome). If the kids and I come out of July alive but absolutely nothing accomplished, I will still consider it a success. If you hear a sudden burst of song August 2nd in the morning, it will be me singing hallelujah, the kids are all in school!

Another part of my fatigue is probably all the playdates I have been hosting. I still feel like Joey has yet to really find her groove with her friends at school. I am getting the sense that the person Joey likes the most in her class doesn't feel the same way about her. So I am trying to help Joey build stronger connections with other classmates but that means hosting two to three playdates a week. Of course, if I host one playdate for Joey, then I feel obliged to do the same for Elysha. It's such a foreign concept to me that I have to work this hard for my kids to have friends. Growing up, all of the families in our little cul-de-sac had kids around the same age. After school, we would all hang out on our street and play kick ball or ride bikes. Or I would just go over to my best friend's house who lived a couple doors down from me. There was no organization for playdates. Everyday was a playdate.

I'm sure I had homework in elementary school but I don't remember ever doing any. But everyday there is the stress of getting Joey's homework done and then practicing piano and hopefully reading a little bit. All this while trying to not completely ignore Elysha and Sam, as well as do the dishes from the day and then cook a dinner that would make Jamie Oliver proud. I think I just feel worn down from the daily routine. Not to mention Chang's upcoming birthday, and converting our office to a guest room, and an impending visit from my sister in law, and errands for my mom, and dealing with my dad.

I hope I don't sound depressed because I am not...though after writing all this I think I should be! As much as my life drives me insane, I know that I am still blessed. I have a good life and my complaints are trivial in the grand scheme of things. But I am still counting down the days until August 2! I will finally get a break and (gasp!) be on my own for the first time in almost seven years. I can't even wrap my head around the idea of it but I am sure I will get used to it really quick!

Our Exotic Beach Getaway

We took a big trip last weekend. We went from LA County to Orange County. It was a torturous hour drive. We were all a little jetlagged but somehow managed to stay awake the first day there.

We really lucked out and had the most gorgeous weather imaginable. Mid-70's all weekend, sunny, but never hot, which worked out for the us because for about 20 hours each day, the kids wanted to play in the pool. From the moment they woke up until the sun went down and it was so cold that Sam's lips turned blue, the kids demanded pool time. We had to beg them to consider going to the beach which is something they would do daily if they could. Once we had to bribe them with ice cream to get them out of the pool. I don't have any pictures of us in the pool since I had to be in the pool too, but I did manage to get pictures of our single beach outing.

This is at Crystal Cove State Park. If you can see to the left, there are rocks all along the beach which allowed tide pools to form.

Here is Joey exploring the tide pools with me. She was so fascinated with the sea anemone, hermit crabs, mussels, and abalone shells. And thanks to Sesame Street, we already learned about habitats!

Elysha just wanted to build sand castles. The girl loves playing in the sand and can do it all day.

This is why going to the beach with three kids is a tremendous feat! They all go in different directions at the same time.

Sam loves the beach and squishing sand under his toes or running into the water.

This picture speaks for itself...

No Surrey for Sammy

I got the weekend off from my grueling PB job last weekend so we decided to go to Santa Barbara for the day. It was our first time going and the weather was perfect.

We started off with a leisurely lunch outside.

Then we decided to rent a surrey. Poor Sam wanted to drive and pedal all by himself. So he cried for 75% of our time on the surrey. I held him after a while and even then, it took him a good 15 minutes to calm down. My iron man had to pedal for all of us because having Sam in my lap and trying to pedal was like trying to bike uphill on the 10th gear. Of course, Chang didn't think I was pulling my weight anyway and said it didn't really make a difference whether I pedaled or not. So I didn't and enjoyed the ride with the kids.

We went to the zoo afterward and the best part was this tiny astroturf hill. Kids were "sledding" down the hill on cardboard scraps.

We waited about in an hour long line to ride on a 10 minute train ride.

After the zoo, we went back downtown and rode the carousel.

The girls were really sweet to each other for most of the day. We had a great time and was back home in time to put them to bed just a little past their bedtime.

Holly Jolly Christmas!

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas! Just thought I would share some fun pics from our Christmas this year.

We went to a Christmas Eve service at a local church. When I told the girls to get dressed up, Joey came decked out in huge diamond drop earrings, her heart necklace, a pink ring, and a turquoise bracelet with a cross on it. The girl loves to accessorize!

Then the kids changed into their Christmas pajamas, a fun gift from a good friend!

The girls were so excited they didn't sleep until midnight.

Here are the Christmas cookies the girls decorated for Santa. We also left out celery sticks for the reindeer.

Santa's presents for the kids. He must get a discount at Pottery Barn Kids too because he got a Barbie bowl/dish/cup set for the girls and a Spiderman set for Sam.

Since I refused to buy the girls new costumes for Halloween this year, I got these costumes for next year. If you go right before Halloween to the Disney store, whatever costumes are left are usually 50% off.


Sam got two keyboards for Christmas! We also got an edible arrangement which came in this red tin drum. Sam found the drum and loved the sound it makes when he bangs on it. On his own, he made up his own little drum set. Then he has been turning on the percussion accompaniment song on the keyboard and banging around the drums.

Our goofball.

Why Elysha Needs a Big Bed

Parent Teacher Conferences for Fall 2009

We went through another round of parent teacher conferences for the girls. It is interesting to hear their teachers' perspectives, especially as the girls get older. I see how their personalities are becoming more defined. And of course, because I like to overanalyze everything, I think about what this means for their future in terms of academics, social development, sibling dynamics, etc. (This post is boring but I want to remember what the teachers said and my reflections of the girls upon hearing the teachers' observations--sorry!)

Joey has been doing really well in kindergarten. It took her a while to get comfortable with the other kids. Her teacher said that for the first few weeks, she wouldn't go outside and interact with the other kids. She would come back into the classroom and ask to help her teacher. I was very eager to help her make friends so I organized a playdate with a girl who Joey mentioned was nice to her. Suddenly, I had other girls' moms asking for playdates with Joey and now Joey has her group of friends. Yay! The teacher also mentioned that Joey is well liked by her classmates and gets along with them.

The teacher gave us a list of skills that kindergarteners need to master by the end of the year. Out of the list of 21 skills, Joey has two that she hasn't mastered. She couldn't read 5 of the 54 "sight words" and she needs to improve in her spelling when writing. The teacher was saying that she was hoping that Joey would take on a leadership role in the class but Joey is hesitant to be in the spotlight. That sounds about right. Even when Joey was two years old, she always hated being the center of attention in a large group setting. Among friends and family, she's comfortable--but bring in just one or two strangers, forget it. That's like me now, but I think as a kid, I was a lot more outgoing.

I'm really happy that we decided to start her off in kindergarten. The kids learn a lot of the culture, work ethics, and teacher expectations in kindergarten. While Joey would probably have fared decently in first grade, we are on a much more gradual learning curve. I've been supplementing her homework since it is so basic which has been forcing me to become more involved in their academic development. Darn--I guess I could only hold off for so long. And I guess that nerd gene is alive and well in me too. One thing I am loving is Joey's piano lessons. I am learning how to read music which I never learned to do in my 20 years of piano lessons.

Elysha is so different from Joey. They are both smart. But Joey has this innate desire to please others. Elysha could not care less. This is her teacher's observation. This is the same preschool teacher that Joey had so she was also marveling at how different the two girls are.

What cracks me up about Elysha is that she doesn't seem engaged while a teacher or parent is speaking (okay, cracks me up when it is someone else, really irritates me when it is me that she is rolling her eyes at). She doesn't appear to listen to you when she is talking but she gets it. She's definitely not a teacher's pet, but thankfully, she isn't a problem student either. She's going to be one of those kids who doodles on her notes in class and listens to music while studying but will perform just as well as the student who takes copious notes. She won't be gunning for extra credit, though, that is for sure.

Elysha doesn't challenge herself and would be happy to draw all day. But when her teacher asks her to do something, she is compliant. Elysha's reading has improved dramatically within the last two weeks. Things finally clicked for her and she is able to read the BOB books with no problem. She's at that stage where she is trying to read everything around her.

Elysha has no problems being the leader and speaking in front of the class. Now that she is one of the older children at her preschool, she has taken on a leadership role--she likes to help the younger kids but also likes to keep up with the kindergarteners. I don't know that she "competes" with Joey so much as she uses Joey as a pacemaker. She wants to keep up--Elysha gets upset when she can't do things as well as Joey--but we just keep reminding her that when Joey was her age, she could not do x,y,z either. Elysha used to get really upset but I think she is understanding better that it is a process.

We talked about Sam entering preschool next summer. He just seems so young compared to the girls at his age. I wonder how much of it is gender/personality vs. me coddling him. I wonder if he will be ready next summer and as excited as I am to finally be able to pee without Sam playing with his cars along the bathtub, I really wonder if I will be ready next summer to let him go. You would think that I would be singing from the rooftops "Freedom!" But a part of me thinks that I will be crying while I am getting a pedicure (because I will be finally taking care of myself after almost seven years of letting myself go to pot).

Explicit Pics--Don't look if you don't have the stomach

Okay, this doesn't have to do with my lip. No more pus, but the broken blood vessels turned into a canker sore. Now it is interfering with eating so I am really annoyed...

We bought a camera for Joey for Christmas 2007. It is one of those Kid Tuff cameras and it is great. It really does withstand all sorts of drops and falls but the picture quality isn't that great. Plus, the kids end up taking 50 pictures of their toes or heads are cropped out. So it is not just the camera that is causing low picture quality, if you get what I mean...

Anyhow, Joey has been bugging me to upload the photos onto the computer because the memory card was full. I finally downloaded all 774 pictures and went through each and every one of them. I deleted all the blurry pics, headless photos, pics of my boobs when I was breastfeeding Sam--but then I found this photo journal which I thought was hilarious:




The picture before the empty toilet shot is of Elysha's butt. Joey probably took these photos when she was four years old. Aren't kids so funny?

Elysha

I was thinking about Elysha while I was gone (I'm back now). Chang and I were laughing about how funny she is and I thought I would write about what makes her an individual person so different from Joey.

One of my all-time favorite photos--the day we brought Elysha home from the hospital, Joey was so excited.

This is when she was about six months old. Her eyes and cheeks grew the most.

And then her hair kept growing taller instead of longer...

Halloween 2006--Hard to believe that was just three years ago...

Elysha loved Sam immediately. He was two months old here and she is reading him a book.

Elysha with her precious desserts.

Happy 4th birthday...

As I said before, the only thing Elysha focuses on with any sort of tenacity is the consumption of dessert or any other treat. I guess she gets that from me. Otherwise, the girl gets distracted so easily. It takes her at least 30 minutes to put on her clothes in the morning. While I am trying to get their lunches together, feed them breakfast and put away the dishes, I'll run to the room to see what progress the girls have made in getting themselves ready. More often than not, I'll find Elysha sitting in her underwear (on a good day), playing with a toy, or reading a book, with her selected clothes strewn on the ground around her.

Me: Elysha! Get dressed!
Elysha: Huh? Oh yeah, I am getting dressed.
Me: Then put the book away.
Elysha: What book? I didn't take it out. Unni (Joey) took it out. It was already open so I was just looking at it while I was getting dressed.

I guess she gets that from her dad. She thinks she can talk her way in or out of anything. And then cocks her head and flashes her dimpled smile.

If the girl had it her way, she would be carried or strolled from point A to point B, always. We were at Legoland walking through mini-land. When we were ready to move on, I said, "Alright, let's go!" However, Chang and I couldn't see Elysha so we started to yell for her. Apparently, the moment I mentioned that we would be going to the next display, she jumped into the stroller but neither of us saw her do that. When Chang started pushing the stroller, he could feel her dead weight and turned to me and said, "where do you think she is?"

Usually when we walk anywhere and we force her to walk, she trails behind us 100 feet, as if to punish us. "If you are going to make me walk, I'm going to walk as slowly as possible." As we were leaving Legoland, Sam was squirming in the stroller so we let him get out. An unexpected opportunity! Suddenly, Elysha comes barreling out of nowhere and starts gunning toward the stroller. I swear I never saw her run so fast in her life.

I know that there are so many ways that Elysha and Joey are similar aside from their looks (we always get the "Are they twins?" question when one is clearly a head taller than the other). But we always feel like our kids are so different, and that's what makes it all so crazy and fun.

Kids Say the Darndest Things

The other day Joey and Elysha were playing horse racing in the car with their My Little Ponies. Joey pretended to be blowing past Elysha so she said, "See you later, alligator!"

So Elysha said to Joey, "See you later, hippopotamus!"

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We went to our elementary school's ice cream social for incoming kindergarteners. Joey was really excited and all day, changed her clothes, added and removed accessories, and decided she was going to wear her fancy shoes. When Chang got home from work, he put on a pair of shorts, but didn't put on a shirt since it has been blistering hot these days (we don't have any form of air conditioning so it's pretty hot inside our house). Chang was trying to corral the kids to get ready to go, so he said, "Come on, let's get going."

Joey was mortified and yelled at Chang, "Daddy put a shirt on! It's rude to go without a shirt!" Of course, Chang had every intention of putting on a shirt before we left the house. But that wasn't clear to Joey. I'm sure she was just concerned that the other kids would be jealous of her father's amazing physique.

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Sam's vocabulary continues to expand. The other day in the car he kept repeating something. I wasn't quite sure what he was saying but it sounded like he wanted something. Then we passed the Golden Arches and his repetitive cry became more emphatic.

"I want McDonald's!"

I'm too sexy for my shirt...

My Adorable Kids

I don't know what is wrong with me these days but I just think that my kids are so adorable! Maybe it is because the girls are back in school after a two week vacation. Or maybe it is because I know that I am done having more babies so I am just trying to enjoy every second of Sam's baby stages.

Sam's language development has been increasing these days. He doesn't have a lot of words but like Elysha at this age, he is learning phrases more than single words. For instance he says, "It's a drum!" Instead of just saying "drum."

Today, in the car, he called out "mama?" and when I responded to him, "Yes?" He just said, "Ummm..." then silence. Two seconds later, "Mama?" Again, I replied, "Yes?" And again, "Ummm..." Elysha does this to me all the time, but eventually, she would figure out what she really wanted to say. For Sam, however, "Ummm" is what he really wanted to say.

One phrase that he has been saying for a while is, "Mama...where are youuuuuuuuuu?" He repeats this over and over as he wonders around the house looking for me. What a sad statement about how little I actually play with him during the day that he has to go around the house calling for me.

He completely mimics the way Chang brushes his teeth. He stands on the step stool at the sink, grabs his toothbrush, brushes his teeth, turns on the sink, rinses his toothbrush, taps it on the side of the sink, put it away, grabs a cup, turns on the sink, fills the cup up with water, takes a sip and spits it out. For a while, he would drink the water, but he has finally learned to spit it out.

He also has been singing the Barney song all the time these days. "I love you, You love me." Although it sounds more like, "I oh ooo, oooo oh eeee!" At least he has the melody right...

The girls are going to be on TV (unless, they get edited out)! But we got a chance to meet Lisa Henson (Jim Henson's daughter) and the other producers and creators of a new PBS Kids show coming out this fall called the Dinosaur Train. It was kind of stressful but cool.

Same Place, Different Times

We went up to the bay area a couple weekends ago for a wedding. My old youth student whom I taught from the time she was 12 until 18, got married. It was a beautiful wedding. It was a short trip but we wanted to do some sightseeing for the girls. They really wanted to see the Golden Gate bridge. But of course, it was windy and cold at the viewing point. So after a few pictures of them with the bridge behind them, they just wanted to go back into the car.

While we were driving up, we had snacks strewn all around the car. Chips, cookies, remnants from our McDonald's lunch--I looked at our car and realized it looked like that Foster's Farm commercial with the chickens and the junk food filled car.

We also stopped in Sausalito for ice cream before heading up to Napa Valley for the wedding. I wanted to take a picture at the same place that we took a picture with just Joey when she was one month old. My how time flies!

Oh how clueless we were back then...

Now the family is complete! I know, I haven't aged at all, right? RIGHT???

Putting on a brave face in the freezing temps...

The girls loved all the flowers at the wedding, and my pashmina. I think they also took these pictures of each other.

Sam trying to get in on the action...

Off to Boston

Baby BFF was born this morning after 24 hours of labor, 3.5 hours of pushing and an eventual c-section. Looks like I'll be going back and forth from the hospital a lot while I am there--in addition to seeing my nephew, and hanging out with the new mommy, I will be very close to my old stomping grounds of my college. I fell in love with the campus while I was there, and miss it as much as I miss my old friends.

I am afraid that everything is going to fall apart at home while I am gone. It is silly since Chang is such a capable person and two of my aunts are going to be here to help out. But I've done all the laundry for the week, paid all the bills, and bought nutritious lunchables so Chang can just dump and go in the morning. I know it's going to be fine and the kids will be fine, but I actually am sad to go and leave my family behind for so long.

I haven't told the girls yet that I am leaving because I was afraid that everyday they would ask me about it and the anticipation would be worse than the actual departure. But Joey overheard me talking about it and so casually asked me about the trip. The girls clung onto me last night when we were putting them to sleep when I told them that I would be leaving "soon" but not in a panicky way--more in a "I'm really going to miss you but go have fun because we'll be alright so don't worry about us" way.

Do you ever just look at your kids and realize that they are older today than they were yesterday? You know, something about the way they are carrying themselves or talking is slightly different? That's what I've been noticing about the kids. Sam is just hilarious and crazy as usual. Elysha just amazes me with her comprehension and her love for her siblings. Joey just keeps maturing by leaps and bounds. She has been helping me with dinner, setting the table, cleaning up, taking care of her younger siblings. Something changed in her overnight and suddenly, she has become extremely mature.

Oh and Sam pooped in the potty on Friday! He isn't anywhere near being potty trained but he seems to understand more than before.

Wearing Naeng Myun

Afternoon tea on our new outdoor furniture, courtesy of PBK.

On Joey's preschool graduation day

Recipe: Zucchini Bread

I am posting this more for myself since I make it all the time and it's easier for me to find on my blog than allrecipes.com.

Now that my zucchini is growing in my backyard, I'll probably be make it every week. I have tweaked it from the original recipe so here is my variation to make it healthier but still delicious.

Moms' Zucchini Bread

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour 1/4 cup of ground flax seed 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1 teaspoon ground allspice 1 teaspoon ground cloves 3 eggs

1 cup vegetable oil 2 1/4 cups white sugar 3 teaspoons vanilla extract 2 cups grated zucchini

Directions:

1.	Grease and flour two 8 x 4 inch pans. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
2.	Sift flour, salt, baking powder, soda, and spices together in a bowl.
3.	Beat eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar together in a large bowl. Add sifted ingredients to the creamed mixture, and beat well. Stir in zucchini and nuts until well combined. Pour batter into 2 prepared pans.
4.	Bake for 40 to 60 minutes, or until tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on rack for 20 minutes. Remove bread from pan, and completely cool.

The kids love this bread. Elysha calls it bikini bread--at least that is what it sounds like she's saying. Joey tries to correct her:
J: "No no Elysha. Listen to me: zookeenee bread."
E: "That's what I said. Bikini bread!"

We usually finish one loaf before it has even had a chance to cool down--even Sam gobbles it down. I use my hand power chopper to cut up the zucchini. In less than a minute, I've got really finely chopped zucchini. Cuts down on the prep time a lot. If you don't have one of these babies, go out and buy one. Absolutely worth the money. I use it all the time and the clean up is a cinch.

My Little Angels (or Not)

Yes, they look so angelic here. And how cute that they fell asleep like this. BUT!!! They found nail polish from their trip to Disneyworld's princess boutique and decided to paint all of their legs and feet with the nail polish. Chang and I check on them every night before we go to sleep and I could smell the nail polish. I freaked out that they got it all over their ridiculously expensive PBK bedsheets. I grabbed a flashlight and checked out the beds. Whew...it looked okay. I went into their bathroom and I saw that they tried to scrub off the evidence with their bath scrubbie and soap. But no huge globs of nail polish. Again, whew...then I looked at their hands and feet and saw that they decided to paint their bodies.

They must have been holding each other in fear that I would unleash my wrath upon them in the morning. I was peeved but how do you stay mad at something so silly?

Happy 4th Birthday Elysha!

Our little Elysha is turning four this weekend! She has been waiting for this day for a very long time. When we went to Legoland in May, she was barred from a ride because she wasn't four years old. She was so devastated and Chang was peeved. He wanted to go to Legoland on her 4th birthday to make it up to her. She keeps saying that now she can ride the horsey ride at Legoland. Who knew that four years old would be such a big milestone?

We threw her a little party this year. Her first girlie party. Silvermist (the water fairy from the new Tinkerbell movie) was invited per Elysha's request. Last year's party was also in our backyard and it was the hottest day of the year. It was sweltering heat. This year it sprinkled on and off all throughout the party--not hard enough to get anyone wet, thank goodness. Plus the weather wasn't too cold so it all worked out.

In this past year, she started preschool, learned to socialize with other kids on a much larger scale and not be so dependent on Joey's company, learned her alphabet and phonics and numbers, learned to read and learned to count and add. Something changed this past year for her mentally too--it's hard to explain. Elysha was speaking in full sentences by the time she was 18 months. She was amazing. But I feel like this past year, she really understands what she is saying, is able to explain herself better, and is no longer just parroting Joey. She is really becoming her own person and I like it. She is really good at sharing her stuff and is genuinely happy for other people. She has a really big heart. We are so proud of her in so many ways and I am excited to see what this next school year is going to be like for her, being one of the older kids. She hasn't really been in this situation so I would like to see her take on a more leadership role. I feel like she is compassionate and very empathetic with others, which probably comes with the territory of being a middle child--a good plus!

When we were at my mom's house a few months ago, my mom was lying down in bed, reading. Elysha came into her room and lie down next to my mom. Then she got up and grabbed some snacks and fed my mom and herself while lying together. How sweet, right?

We love you Elysha! Thank you for being you, my considerate, compassionate, puzzle-loving, playdoh-loving, and karaoke-loving sweetheart.

Sam trying to make his moves on Silvermist.