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!).

Watch Out Ken!

Sam was playing with the girls' Barbie during bath time tonight. When it was time to let go of it, he whined a little bit and said that he wanted to sleep with it. We told him it was his sisters' Barbie. Then he said, "I want one."

I probably shouldn't single out these stories but they make me laugh. The whole day he was playing with his cars and balls, and playing his drums and guitar. For 15 minutes he plays with a Barbie and I'm calling him out on it. But I think it's funny and cute.

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!

Sam's Haircut...

This isn't the first haircut Sam has gotten, but it is the first time I was there to witness. Before I would be too sad to actually watch the shears snip away at Sam's baby hair. Chang and I have a deal that no clippers will touch Sam's head. As I keep saying, I want to keep him my little baby as long as possible, and when his hair is shaved on the sides, he looks too grown up.

How many people does it take to cut one kid's hair? Answer: Three!

Looking at Daddy helps Sam keep his cool...

Ta-da! The finished product and his just reward.

Be My Little Baby

Sam is growing up way too quickly. As excited as I am to enter the next stage of my life once Sam goes to preschool, I don't want him to stop being a baby. He is really just so deliciously adorable. The day that I have to stop translating Sammynese will be a really sad day for me. In order to keep him younger, I have been encouraging little mispronunciations when he speaks. When the girls were younger and even now, I can't help but correct them.

"No sweetie, it is precipitation, not perspiration. You need to be a little more perspicacious about your diction. I don't care that you are only four or six. You should know better."

But with Sam, I purposely use his baby words because whenever he says something slightly (or even dramatically askew), it just tickles my heart.

My favorite is balloon-a-woona. A close second is wa-wa (for Big Bird). And last, but not least, is when he sings the Barney clean up song, he sings, "Clean bup, clean bup." And today, he called cantaloupes, bangoo drums (bangoo is fart in Korean). Love it!

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...

Beach Boys vs Backstreet Boys

Joey is now a full-fledged reader. I am amazed at how much her reading ability has improved in this past year. Her teacher is recommending that she begin reading chapter books. Though I would like for her to tackle War and Peace soon, I figure we would just ease into it with some fun books like Junia B Jones, Magic Tree House, and Amelia Bedelia.

Joey has been reading Amelia Bedelia for a while now and those books bring back memories. I read Amelia Bedelia when I was younger and I remember not understanding the idioms or phrases used in the book. I didn't get the humor of the book at all though I understood the premise of the book. To a certain degree, I felt like Amelia Bedelia. Even though I was born and raised here in the states, I am definitely the child of immigrant parents and a lot of things that are so ingrained in American culture are things I am still trying to figure out.

I realized that there are some lessons learned through formal education and other lessons learned through parents. So I have decided to take it upon myself to teach our kids music. And I'm not talking about Beethoven. If our kids never learn to distinguish between Fur Elise or Clair de Lune, it's somewhat forgivable. But if our kids don't know the difference between the Beach Boys and the Backstreet Boys, they may end up as the idiot on Jay Leno's "Jay Walking" one day.

So I have been forcing the kids to listen to the radio in the car, instead of Raffi or the Wiggles (thank God I am finally free!). And whenever a song comes on that I deem worthy of retention in their mental music catalogs, I yell out the singer and title of the song. I sing along to try to get them into it, but the girls are not interested at all. Sam, on the other hand, is enjoying it for the most part. Now he asks me who is singing when we listen to the radio and he always repeats the name as if he will actually remember.

Sam: Who's this, Mommy?
Me: This is Soft Cell.
Sam: Sah Sel?
Me: Mm-hmm, Soft Cell singing Tainted Love.

Next song...
Sam: Who's this, Mommy?
Me: This is Taylor Sw...never mind. I'm sure in a few years, we'll all be over her.
Sam: Never mind?
Me: Mm-hmm, Baby, never mind.

How Do They Know Their ABC's?

So Sam seems to have mastered most of the alphabet. It was quite a shock to me. You see, I never actively taught any of my kids their numbers or letters. I hired a publicly financed tutor who is extremely creative and imaginative with teaching children the alphabet. Puppets are used to help get the message across. And sometimes, because this tutor is connected, and hey, we do live in LA, I get a celebrity in our house. Each of my kids sat with this tutor for hours daily, sometimes all day if I was especially tired or just gave birth to yet another baby.

Another success story, courtesy of Sesame Street!

A Spamtacular Mistake

So I am guilty of emotional eating. I eat my favorite ice cream (B&J's Coffee Heath Bar Crunch) practically every night as a means to treat myself after a grueling day with the kids.

Despite the torrential downfall of rain, I still had to run my usual errands, one of them being Costco. I have to say, it really sucked. I didn't strap Sam in because the safety belt was soaking wet. So the whole time, I was trying to keep him from taking a flying leap from the cart. Finally, I put him in the back part of the cart and he happily beat on the boxes of pull-ups like drums.

When I was at the checkout line, the guy who loads up the carts asked me to put Sam into the front part of the cart. He might as well have asked me to conjure up a two headed snake out of thin air. Both were impossible tasks, and the whole time they were ringing me up, I was wrestling a screaming Sam, trying to cram his feet through the leg openings of the front part of the cart. After the sadistic cart-loading guy watched me attempt mission impossible, he told me it was okay and let Sam stay in the back while he loaded up the cart. When I got outside, the rain was pouring down. I let Sam hold the umbrella while I tried to run and push the stroller. Sam thought it would be funny to hold the umbrella upside down so it would catch the rain more than repel it. Yeah, not very funny.

By the time we were on our way home, I was already done for the day, and it was only 11:30 am. I was soaked with rain and self-pity, so I drove to the nearby In-N-Out and ordered a cheeseburger (animal style), fries and a chocolate shake. I totally deserved it, right?

Well, that night, I lost it again. I mean, really lost it. So after we put the kids to bed, I made myself S'mores. It hit the spot and the world was good again.

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Do you ever get a craving for something and that desire to eat it just simply won't go away? Well, I have had a hankering for Spam for weeks now. Probably due to this blog post. Clearly, Spam is not the healthiest thing to eat and honestly, do I want to bring it into the house and raise up a new generation of Spam eaters? If we were extremely healthy, maybe I would have given in earlier, but as you can see, we're not. So it took all my willpower to say no to the Spam. But we were at a mall yesterday and there was an Ono Hawaiian BBQ place. The Spam Musubi was crying out to me like a muse and I could no longer resist. I got two Spam Musubi. You know how they say that there will be a big feast in heaven. Well, I have not doubt that Spam Musbi will be one of the many treats in the heavenly buffet.

Unfortunately, my body did not agree with the excessive intake of Spam, and I think I have been cured of my Spam cravings for quite some time. But God, please keep Spam Musubi on the menu in heaven because up there, we won't have to deal with indigestion, right?

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.

This is Why...

Joey and Sam are both sick right now. At least I am assuming Sam is sick. I think I can safely say that Sam's nose has been running for a good three months now. When I took him in for his two year check up, the doctor said that it was allergies. Apparently, even if there is color to his mucus, if it clears up and thins out by the end of the day, it most likely is allergies.

But for our story's purposes, Sam is sick and his nap was equivalent to a long blink. We also put him to bed late because we went to a local sports bar to watch the Orange Bowl (go Hawkeyes!). By the time we got home, gave them a bath and got them ready for bed, the girls were tired and Sam was losing it.

So I scooped him up and squished his body into the length of my cradled arms so that his feet were tucked under his knees. I carried him into this room and rocked on the glider. His head was nestled just above the crook of my arm (too big to fit anymore!) and I pulled him tightly so I could whisper a lullaby and prayer into his ear. When I was done singing, I squeezed him even closer against my body so I could hug him as I carried him to his crib. As I laid him down already half-asleep, I gave him as many kisses as I had breaths and tucked him into this Lightening McQueen blanket. I gently ran my fingers through his hair and said, "I love you Sammy."

With a soft voice and entranced soul that had already begun its journey into dreamland, he whispered, "I love you Mommy."

This is why...

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.

Day Two: I Only Had One Drink...

The girls are out of school so it's me plus 3 kids. Alright, so it ain't 8, but still, I consider it a great achievement that no one has run of out the house with their hands waving in the air like a mad man screaming, "she's really lost it this time!" Of course, the biggest potential culprit of such lunatic behavior would be me, but I have remained sane and sober--actually, that is the great achievement of the day.

In fact, not to toot my own horn, but yesterday, the girls and I made this together:


The hardest part of this project was keeping Sam from eating all the candy. I had to keep giving him other candy or white trash sugary snacks to keep him at bay (ehem...not that I actually have Twinkies or Ding-dongs in my pantry...)

Today, we spent the day at Giggles N Hugs. My friend chose a booth and she situated herself and her kid in a way that I had to have my kids sit in a row on one side and me on the other. My darling little angels were all sitting quietly and eating. My friend with her one kid was extremely impressed. "They're so good!" I smiled smugly and replied, "They ARE good. What can I say? I've trained them well." I couldn't help but feel like just maybe, I have it all figured out.

As we left the kiddie play area, Sam's didn't want to go. So I was trying to carry him in one arm, and three jackets and my purse in the other. I can only carry a screaming, squirming Sam for about 50 feet before he breaks free from under my arm (I usually carry him under my arm like I hold an evening clutch, though considerably less elegantly). After he breaks free, then I usually have to drag him by his arm. If people are around, I pretend to get him to stand up so it doesn't look too abusive. We got to the valet area and I just dropped him and let him roll around on the asphalt. I usually wait for the inevitable raised eyebrow from a nearby adult who could potentially call child protection services on me before I pretend to care.

Tonight, I wanted to go to Lawry's. Last year, we went and it was a wonderful experience. The kids were all so well behaved so the thought crossed my mind to make it a family tradition for Christmas. More logical parents would think twice about such an occasion considering the meltdown that I had just experienced at the other restaurant. But nope, the chance the eat at the happiest place on earth was just too enticing for me. I thought I would tempt fate.

Luckily we got seated right away but when we got to our table, I realized that it could not accommodate a high chair (i.e. Sam would not be strapped down). Again, I should have known better but the thought of waiting for a better table was unfathomable. Now, I wasn't just tempting fate, I was playing chicken on fate's high speed freeway.

A five inch smear of mashed potatoes on my dry clean only dress, and a dinner (for Sam) that consisted only of chips and hot fudge sundae later, we made it out alive. The girls were so well behaved. They were trying to choose between "O Holy Night" and the Chipmunk Christmas song for the carolers to sing, but decided to choose the former after finding out it was my favorite song.

Multiply that chip that Sam's holding by 20 and throw in some hot fudge sundae and there you will have Sam's dinner tonight at a prime rib restaurant.

Despite all the chaos (and a mischievous caroler putting his hat on my head), I was happy--prime rib, wine, and Christmas cheer. And, I got to wear my boots! What more can a girl ask for?

Merry Christmas!

Just as Good as a Tissue

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I was really hoping to do some damage so I planned my outfit in order to accommodate the large intake of food on turkey day. We first took my mother in law out for lunch at a Korean BBQ place (Shik-Do-Rak). Then we were stuck in traffic forever trying to get to my cousin's. Typical SoCal traffic--it took two hours to get from point A to point B even though it should have only been an hour. It all worked out because it gave us time to digest. My cousin and his wife really went all out, ham, turkey, and all the delicious sides. Of course, what Thanksgiving meal would be complete without kalbi jjim, kimchee and other Korean sides. I ate everything--twice. Yum yum!

We hung out at my mom's for the rest of the weekend and ate some more. It was a great weekend for me as I slept a lot, ate my mom's cooking a lot, and sang karaoke a lot. We know we are extremely blessed and we are so grateful to God--happy Thanksgiving!

But back to the reason why I entitled this post, "just as good as a tissue." The girls learned how to play "Go Fish" with their cousins this weekend so when we got home, the girls wanted to play again. We were sitting on the ground playing and Sam was weaving around us playing with his toys.

Achoo! Sam turned to me and said, "nose!" I looked at him and he has this five inch booger string hanging from his nose which was smashed horizontally against his cheek. He started to move towards me and turned his head down like a rodeo bull ready to bump the tossed rider. He grabbed me by the shoulders and went in for the kill. As he got closer to my shirt, he started to turn his cheek so that he could begin the booger transfer. I was trapped. His full 30-something pound frame on was me. I tried to break free but he just wrestled me to the ground and kept trying to wipe that snotvine on me. I finally managed to pry his grip off my shoulders and I quickly jumped up.

When he knew he lost me for good, he decided to go to his plan B. He wiped the booger string with his fingers and mashed it into his hair.

The funny thing is when his nose is running, he usually grabs the bottom of his shirt and wipes his nose. I usually do this for him when we are out and I don't have a tissue handy. And there may have been one or two times when I've done this at home and I'm just too lazy to get up and get a tissue. Recently, he realized that he can wipe his nose on his shirt by himself, which is great because when he does it in public, I feign disgust.

Tonight though, he must have been inspired by Calvin and Hobbes or his dad paid him five bucks because he was determined to wipe that snot trail on me.

Who me? Dear, sweet, innocent me?

A Duet

Here's another video clip of Sam playing his guitar but this time he is accompanied by someone who is wearing the same outfit as him. Yes, it was on purpose. Yes, the big one dressed the little one and I had nothing to do with it. Yes, I make fun of the big one whenever he does it (like every week), but I secretly think it is adorable.



When Sam raises his fist after jamming on the guitar, he is looking for a standing ovation. Since Chang was too busy getting his groove on, Sam got annoyed and threw his guitar (now you can see why my lip got busted).

Happy 2nd Birthday Sam!

Sam is turning two! I can't believe my baby is two. There is a part of me that wants to keep him at this age forever because he is so adorable right now (but then again, I could eat him with a spoon since birth).

Sam is 75% in height and 90% in weight and 100% in attitude! These days he continues to amaze us with his talking. He still loves his guitars and singing and dancing. He received some boy toys for his birthday and I never realized how much he loves Thomas the tank engine. He was deprived for boy toys all this time because we were too cheap to buy anything for him. So all those times I joke about him playing with his sisters' princess stuff? It's because he had nothing else to play with...now he wants me to read to him his new truck book, set up his "choo-choo" stuff daily, and his race cars. Who knew that gender-appropriate toys were so important?

Sam, we love you so much. You have completed our family. We love your goofiness--when you laugh, we all delight in your joy. We marvel at your love for music and enjoy your daily serenades. I love it that you still cuddle with your mommy and are generous with your kisses and hugs. I love that you are independent and determined to do things for yourself. You are so sweet, smart and silly and are so grateful to God for giving you to us!

Sam was annoyed with me because I kept trying to take his picture while he was enjoying his chocolate buttercream frosting.

Enjoying his birthday cake again, but this time being polite.

I didn't think that Sam would know about blowing out candles or that we were celebrating his birthday but he did!

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).