Merry Christmas 2010

Merry Christmas! Hoping your day is blessed and full of love.

Chipmunk's Little Mysteries

Everyday is full of little mysteries.

Mystery #1: Where Did It Go

"Mommy, I lost it!"
"What did you lose?"
"I lost it!"
"Where did it go?"
"I don't know..."

Mystery #2: How Did It Get There?

"Mommy, look. Soap everywhere!!"
"Uh, how did that get there?"
"My sister did it."
"Did she really?"
"I don't know..."

Mystery #3: Missing Train

"Mommy, I put a train in the potty!"
"Uh, did you take it out?"
"I don't know..."

Mystery #4: Guess What I Ate

"Mommy, I swallowed something...get it out!"
"What did you swallow?"
"I don't know..."

Mystery #5: Who Broke It

Craassshhh!
"What happened?!"
"It broke, mommy!"
"Who broke it?"
"I don't know..."

Like I said, everyday is full of little mysteries. I just wish I didn't have to clean up after each one.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hope you're all counting your blessings today. I know I am.





Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

One of Those Days

It's been one of those days....one of those days when you can't decide whether it's you that's crazy or it's your child. You've had it up to here. You're patience is so thin you can see through it. Your brow is stuck in a furrow of frustration and you're afraid to open your mouth in case what comes out can't be taken back.

So you close your eyes, breathe in sharply, and exhale slowly hoping all your anger and worry will release with your outgoing breath. Your fists are clenched and your fingernails are pushing creases into your palms.

Helpless words escape your lips, "Help me, Lord." You feel the pressure building behind your eyes and the tell-tale tears are slowly pushing their way out despite how hard you try to suppress them. You are a bottled well of anger, frustration, feeling beat down and helplessly lacking control. You don't know whether to punch a wall or jump back into bed and hide. It's just been one of those days.

Then little flashes pop into your mind...and you remember. You remember the day you first held them in your arms. You remember their tiny little bottom lip pouting and crying only minutes after being born and just the sheer awe of knowing you love so much despite how you just met. You remember that first smile after weeks of colic that warmed you inside and out, melting away your weariness. You remember the first time they hugged you unprompted and said, "Yuv you," or the first time they sat in your lap wanting to be hugged.

And just like that, your frustration melts, your anger subsides, and you remind yourself that love is never easy, forgiveness is no small feat. You pick yourself up, prod yourself forward and do what you must whether it's cleaning up a mess or mentally revising how to approach the situation.

It's just one of those days...one of many to come...so you better find a way to cope, a way to right your spirits, a way to not let yourself be pushed over the edge, a way to make sure that when you put your head to your pillow at night you're not haunted by all the ways you could have been a better parent that day.

Halloween Aftermath

Chipmunk wailed as I was trying to put his costume on him. "NO, TAKE OFF!!!" He cried so much that there are tear stains all along his lapel.

It wasn't until the weather turned a bit colder and he decided that his long pants/long sleeved costume was finally worth wearing. I was almost afraid he wasn't going to wear his costume at all.



Chipmunk as Iron Chef Morimoto.

Bear was so happy in her Cinderella costume that she was prancing around and twirling at every moment she got.



She came up to me halfway through and was fighting back tears in her eyes. Apparently she took a turn in the jumper and tore her dress. Fortunately I came armed with safety pins (Learned from last year's costume). After I tucked her back in her dress and assured her that I would fix it the right way once we got home, she proclaimed, "I don't want to go in the jumper anymore."

No more jumpers for Bear...at least on Halloween.

Lapsus Linguae

After bringing home the new sewing machine...

Husband: Are you happy you have a sewing machine again?

Me: Yup. It's nice.

Husband: Now you can finish all your crap.

Me: Crap?

Husband: I mean...CRAFTS. Not cra-ap. Cra-afts.

Me: Right. You mean like how you play Star-crap? Oh, I mean Star-cra-aft.

Monster, Monster!

Chipmunk has been a little obsessed with monsters...invisible monsters.

He'll point under a table or bed and yell out, "Aw, month-ter! I cay-ered(Ah, monster. I scared.)" Of course, he says this with a huge grin and laughs like it's the best joke he's ever played.

He'll don a blanket over his head and "Roooaaar!" after his sister declaring, "I a month-ter. I get you."

He will take his bear, knock over his sister's toys and say, "Month-ter, stomp your toys!"

Of course, he also decided to point at our server at a restaurant one day and yell out, "MONSTER, MONSTER!!!!"

Thankfully, she thought it was hilarious and returned to our table frequently to try to get him to do it again.

*Sigh*



What can I say? It takes a monster to know a monster.

What Autumn Brings...

So the leaves don't really change colors where we live...Our Autumn indicators are a little bit different...

First Days of School.





County fair food.



Soccer.



Then came the 100+ degree weather. Lovely.

It's a Wireless, Wireless World

Last night we went out to eat at a local restaurant and although we've been there numerous times before, this time they had portable touch screens, mounted on stands, available at each table. We didn't try it, but you could order your meals, watch movies, and even pay for your bill using the provided card reader. Our server, however, took one look at our curious, bouncing Chipmunk and showed him how to play an animal memory game on the device. Bear immediately came over and soon both the kids were happily matching zebra to zebra and lion to lion.

Matt then whipped out his smart phone and checked his email and sports scores.

I was left twiddling my thumbs with no one to talk to.

So I looked around the restaurant and let me tell you, it was quite a sight. At one table I saw a girl tapping away on her Nintendo DS next to her sister who was playing on the touch screen device, while their dad was typing away on his iPhone. At another table a boy was playing on the touch screen while his brother was watching a show on a portable DVD player. His father was chatting on his blue tooth ear piece and the mother, was reading on her phone. And it wasn't just at those two tables, it was a recurring theme throughout the restaurant. People were texting, checking emails, playing games, watching shows...it was hard to find people who were just simply talking to one another.

Is this what the future of dining out holds for us?

Granted, I'm guilty of pulling out my Nano to keep Chipmunk busy while waiting for our orders to arrive, and Matt has on many an occasion handed over his phone to Bear so she can doodle to keep her impatience at bay...

It was just such an eye-opening experience at how much more wireless our world is becoming. My mother mentioned watching a row of kids at a graduation where each kid had their own iPad to tap away on. I've read articles with suggestions for purchasing preschool age kids their own iPod touch to keep them busy on long car/plane rides. There are portable game devices for every possible age group, with many of them capable of connecting wirelessly in some capacity.

Hmmm...

I remember, as a kid, getting excited if there was a kids menu that came with crayons.

It's a different world our kids live in. I just hope that by becoming more connected with our gadgets and the internet, we don't lose the personal connections we have with each other.

Of course, as I'm typing away on the laptop right now, I'm thinking, "Gee, shouldn't I get off and go play with my kids?" So I'll quit my ranting and raving for now. Until next time...

Simple Prayers

Chipmunk, on giving thanks before meals...

Chipmunk: De-ah God. FOOD! Ay-men. (Dear God, Thank you for the food. Amen.)

Gotta love simple prayers.

Grandkids, the Tour

Out of seven grandparents (including great grandparents), six of them live on the other half of our state. Thus, when we are making travel arrangements for visits, we tend to make the rounds making sure that each grandparent gets their fair share of time with their beloved grandkids. Perhaps one day our two kids won't be the only grandkids available to them all, but for now, they're it.

Our tour began with Matt's family...While visiting we managed to catch a train ride. Now this was no dinky train ride. It was a real full-sized train. Chipmunk was in utter delight.



He was especially fascinated when the train had to uncouple for a bit.



We went to a local amusement...filled with fairy tale themed fun.



We rounded out the first half of the tour with swimming, rice krispy treat decorating, daily walks with grandpa, and seeing some friends.

The second part of tour was a visit with a great grandma. We went for dim sum. All was well until Chipmunk broke out in hives. Poor guy. Luckily there was a Walgreen's next door with a decent supply of Children's Benadryl. We think it was the shrimp.

The third leg of the Grandkids tour was with my side of the family. Of all the things we did, the zoo is probably what struck a chord with Bear and Chipmunk. They kept asking to see the elephants, which we did.



Chipmunk after a while gave his own impression of a wild animal.



All in all, a good trip. Lots of good memories and home once again.

Pancake Diving...

...or "The Things We Did in San Diego This Year"

Yup. Just returned. What a trip.



We saw some pinnipeds basking in the gloomy overcast and otherwise hidden sun.



We met up with friends and played in the local park.



We visited the beach and built sandcastles, also in the July gloom.



We found ourselves surrounded by millions of legos. Millions...and millions...



...and then there was pancake diving...oh boy.



For the video, click here.

Twenty Questions

Having Bear around is like a game of twenty questions, except there's no final answer and the questions just keep on coming.

Mommy, why do people get sick?

Lately Bear has been asking a lot of questions that I'm not quite sure how to answer without getting too deeply philosophical, theological or ontological.

Do ambulances help a lot of people in trouble?

Some questions I can answer, but she always follows up with a stumper.

Why do people die when they get hurt a lot?

You know that feeling when you're trying to come up with a reasonable answer and your mouth is hanging open and you're hoping that the right words will come out on their own? Yeah, that's me...except the only word that comes out is, "um."

What happens when we die?

There's also the moments where you feel like you're in over your head and the best course of action would be to just give a cop out answer even if it means fibbing a bit.

How do babies get in mommies' tummies?

Of course, does knowing that you fibbed to your child make you feel better in the long run, or would it be better to answer truthfully and risk the consequence of confusing your child or better yet, having more unanswerable questions shot back at you?

Why do people do mean things?

And you wish you could just maintain their childlike ignorance and shield your little ones from knowing about the dark side of humanity...you know, those things we read about in the news and feel a deep pit of ick in our stomachs while we read about it.

Why do I do mean things sometimes?

And you wish you could protect your dear ones from sadness and pain and ever having to feel regret or shame.

Mommy?

Yes, my darling little girl?

How much do you love me?

Now, there's a question I can answer. I love you more than I can express in words...much more.

4th of July

The first year we took Bear to see the fireworks, she fell asleep. This year, she excitedly yelled "Wow, that was a big one!" after every couple of fireworks.

The first year we took Chipmunk, he stared wide-eyed at the flickering lights while I covered his dainty five month old ears. This year he watched for about ten minutes then got bored and read his Thomas the Tank Engine book by the light of each pyrotechnic blast.

I see. I guess the Independence Day celebration just wasn't exciting enough to capture his attention. I just don't understand how he could pick cherries nonstop for three hours, but give up on twenty minutes of fireworks.



Oh well. Hope you all had wonderful 4th of July moments.

Hanging with the Fishes

I actually bought an annual pass to our local aquarium. At first I thought it was a bad idea, especially since the first time we managed to go, I spent the walk back to the car carrying a kicking and screaming 2 year old.

The next time we went, it was much better. Although we didn't get to all of the exhibits, it made the next ten months of having an annual pass not seem so daunting.



Maybe it was because we had friends to go with and extra time to run around the outdoor fountains. Whatever it was, I get the feeling that Chipmunk had a much better time on the second go.

Perhaps next time we'll get to hit up the otter exhibit.

Picking Cherries

"Pih-king Cheh-wreeeees...Pih-king Cheh-wreeees..."

Chipmunk wrote a little song this weekend that he sang for hours as he delightfully picked cherries.



It was delightfully fun watching him pick with such dedication. Speaking of which, I have never ever seen him so focused on one task for so long. He hopped around picking cherries for hours, only stopping to drink some water and brush the dirt off his hands. He even listened to directions when I told him not to eat them until we washed them later. Amazing.



Bear seemed to be having an equally good time. She danced around and "supervised" her brother's choices in which branches to pick. He didn't seem to mind. He just picked and continued to sing, "pih-king cheh-wreeeees!"



Before we knew it, we were dragging home bags and bags of cherries. Chipmunk didn't mind. He sat with his bowl of washed cherries and sang, "Eat-ing Cheh-wreees...Yum-my Cheh-wreeees!"

Mother's Day 2010

Sorry, this post is a bit delayed...I haven't really posted much lately. I hope the four of you who read this blog don't mind that it's a bit tardy.

For Mother's Day, we spent the day (and the next day as well) gallavanting through the "Happiest Place on Earth."



Chipmunk had fun with all the rides. Surprisingly, the wait time wasn't that bad.



The longest wait times involved meeting Fairies and Princesses (seriously, an hour and half to meet a princess?!?!)...which was deemed mandatory on Bear's to-do list.



I have to say, our kids were excited to meet all the over-sized characters...even Chipmunk.

Which was a vast improvement on an occasion two years ago...do you remember this debacle with over-sized theme park characters?



I guess two years makes a difference.

Trouble with Time

Matt went on a business trip for a couple of days to the east coast. So far, barring a few emotional outbursts, the three of us (Bear, Chipmunk, me) all seem to be surviving...which is always a good thing.

Last night Bear asked if we could call Matt, but I told her it was too late due to the time change.

"Time change?" she asked.

I explained as best as I could that where her dad was it was three hours later.

She scrunched up her face in obvious confusion.

"Can we call him three hours later?" she asked still with mental distress.

Again, I explained in as simple terms as possible that her dad was in another time zone and the time there was three hours later than it was here.

She just shrugged and then asked, "How did Daddy get three hours later? Daddy said he was going to Al-la-delf-ee-a (Philadelphia)."

So now she has this strange concept that her dad traveled through time in an H.G. Wells sort of way. Ooops.

Happy belated Father's Day to all you time-traveling dads out there.

The Spill

It happened in a second. Our daughter was standing there on the dining room chair trying to entertain us with her antics and the next thing we see is her arms and legs flailing towards the floor. She hit the carpeted floor, bounded back up and said, "I'm okay." Then we, the witnesses to the debacle, all heaved a sigh of relief...except for Chipmunk. The serious look he had in his eye was all concern as he proclaimed, "Oh no...Choc-yat mick (Chocolate milk)!" Apparently he was more concerned for the box of chocolate milk that Bear managed to tip over in her tumble to the ground rather than for his sister. It wasn't until we righted that box of chocolate milk that Chipmunk finally heaved his sigh of relief and smiled to let us know that all was right with the world again.

SGFWWLTHTS2

S = Support
G = Group
F = For
W = Women
W = Who
L = Lost
T = Their
H = Husbands (Sig Others)
T = To
S2 = Starcraft 2

Apparently we need to start this come July 27th.

Sigh.

Two Peas, One Pod

I've been joking lately that having Chipmunk made us realize just how spoiled we were with Bear. I shouldn't say that. Chipmunk is a good kid, too. He just shows it in different ways.

Bear is sweetly affectionate. She would crawl into my lap when she needed a hug and just stay there in my arms sometimes chatting away about anything and everything.

Chipmunk needs his hugs, too. Of course, after a while, he starts to squish my face between his hands, attempt to pick my nose with his fingers, or poke out my eyes. He even attempts to lick my face. Not really wanting my face licked, I end up putting him back onto the floor. He then rolls over and licks the floor instead. Ew.

Bear loves her Sonja doll so much, she treats her royally. She is so tender and caring, making sure that her doll is well-dressed, well-fed and well-kept.

Chipmunk loves his Stinky Bear. He loves it so much he bites on the arms and tail until it is sopping wet with drool. He body slams the little guy into the floor. He throws him around and shoves him into small places for kicks. He sends him head first into drinking fountains and sandboxes.

When it's time for bed Bear calmly lays down and tells me about the happy things she'll think about to help her fall asleep: rainbows, unicorns, flowers...

When Chipmunk slams down into his bed, he rummages around for his toys, throwing some out of his crib for fun, before singing loudly to himself where sometimes I have to come back and tell him to quiet down. He responds by loudly making pretend snores and then laughing about it just as loudly.

They're my two little peas. They're from the same pod, yet they're so different. Different is fun.

Missing: My Sense of Humor

Last seen about four and a half years ago somewhere on the road to Parenthood. Some distinguishing features include an ability to laugh at everyday things, to smile even in the midst of difficulties, and to not take life so seriously when things get hectic.

If found, please return immediately as the owner could use a good laugh and not be such a serious stick-in-the-mud as she has been lately.

Easter Weekend Catch-up

...or perhaps I should title this post "Scary Ponies, Trains and Eggs."

Scary Ponies



Bear was so proud that she could ride a pony.

That smug smile fell off her face the moment the pony took off in a run.

The pony ride we visited had three different options: Slow, Medium and Fast. She chose to ride a Medium pony. Have you ever seen a four-year-old holding onto her saddle for dear life? That's what Bear was doing. She even yelled at the pony handlers, "Not AGAIN! NO...Not AGAIN!" before her pony started it's trot on the second lap. Needless to say, I don't think we'll be taking her horseback riding anytime soon.



We're such mean parents for taking a picture of her while she's in distress (snicker snicker).

Trains

Chipmunk was smart and objected to the pony ride beforehand. (Me: Do you want to ride a pony? Chipmunk: No thank you, no thank you!)



He was, however, very excited about the train ride next door.



Ah yes, Chipmunk and his trains. He loves his trains...probably just as much as he loves to eat.

Eggs

He also loves hunting for eggs...er, rather hunting for eggs, removing the candy from inside, and then leaving the empty egg on the ground to the disappointment of the next kid who comes along. What can I say...he knows what he wants.



Here his mouth is full of chocolate.

For the next few days it was often that I heard Chipmunk running around yelling, "Caaaannndy Yuuummmmy," while leaving empty plastic eggs in his wake.

Goodnight....

Me: Okay it's time to go to bed. Goodnight kids.

Bear: Goodnight.

Chipmunk: 'Night.

Me: I love you kids.

Bear: Love you, too, Mommy.

Chipmunk: Yub you, Mommy.

Bear: I love Daddy, too.

Chipmunk: Yub you, Daddy.

Bear: I love you, Baby.

Chipmunk: Yub you, Noo Nah.

(I close the door and walk away)

Bear: Baby, what are you doing?

Chipmunk: (talking to himself) 'Night Bear Bear...'Night Thomas...'Night Toby...

Bear: Shhh, you're too loud. You're waking me up.

Chipmunk: Noo Nah?

Bear: You should go to sleep. If you don't sleep, you'll be tired tomorrow. Close your eyes and go to sleep, okay!

Chipmunk: (Makes a fake snoring sound and both kids giggle)

Bear: You're so funny, baby.

Chipmunk: Funny Noo Nah.

Bear's Heart

It amazes me how Bear, at four years old, could have such a big heart. She just loves so much and wants to share it with everyone.

I see it in the way she cares for her little brother. She follows him around to make sure he's well taken care of. When she gets herself a snack, she makes sure to grab two bowls and share. When he falls down, she's the first one there asking him if he's okay and will run to the fridge to grab a cold pack to soothe him.

It doesn't matter whether you've met her once or played with her dozens of times, she considers everyone friend. She's the first one to ask a new friend to come play, and she's the last to leave making sure that everyone gets home okay.

When she engages in conversation, she makes sure that everyone knows what's on her heart and what she thinks about. She's transparent like that.

When she heard that my grandma had fallen down, she fretted and worried asking me every other hour if "big grandma" was okay.

When her classmate got stung by a bee during playtime, she prayed that night that "no more bees would sting" him. She also kept asking me "why do bees sting people?". I tried to explain how bees protect themselves and how it was an accident, but she just couldn't understand why a bee would want to hurt any creature...even a bear trying to steal a bee's honey.

When her fish passed away, she cried for days just because she felt the loss so strongly...even if he was only around for four days.

When any of our relatives visit, she cries herself to sleep the night they leave, often telling me how much she misses them and wants them to visit again soon ("I miss Grandma/Ying Ying/Yeh Yeh so much...when can I see them again?" sniff sniff)

She spends her quiet time each day coloring pictures and cutting cards that she intends for the various loved ones in her life ("I'm making this picture for Auntie Rochelle, because I love her," she says with a smile).

She has this way about her...this charisma where once she knows you, you're part of her world. She naturally befriends people young and old. She gets a lot of attention...but mostly it's because she gives it, too.

She's just got one of those hearts...bursting with love. I'm blessed that I get to be one of those she loves.

The Tantrum Redefined

Today in his toddler gym class, Chipmunk threw a fit. It was a full-blown, foot-stomping, screaming bloody murder type of tantrum. To avoid the stray eyes of disapproving parents I took my angry little monster outside and waited for the storm to blow over.

In my two years as his mom, I've learned that attempting to calm him down is like trying to stop a nuclear chain reaction. Bribe him with a toy or food? He angrily throws them away. Try a distraction? Nope. He just needs to get the tantrum out of his system.

Of course, as he's yelling/throwing himself to the ground, I can't help feel like I'm being an awful parent. I feel everyone's eyes staring at me and telepathically telling me that I'm going about it all wrong. I feel...judged, but helpless.

I've considered my options: (1) Give in and give him what he wants; (2) Preempt his tantrums by making sure there isn't anything for him to get upset over beforehand; (3) Just let him explode.

Since (1) and (2) feed back into his "explosive" behavior, (3) seems to be my best option. I just have to let him get whatever it is off his chest and then work with him on not getting upset when he is calm. It's just as he is screaming for the fifteenth minute, I'm wondering how much more patience I have left in the barrel, when as suddenly as his fit came on, it ends. This morning after Chipmunk vented, he was able to return to his class almost as if the whole episode never happened, with only tell tale snot trails running down his smiling face.

His teacher, with years more parental wisdom than I, wasn't accusatory, didn't point her finger, just came up and told me that Chipmunk reminded her of her own now 12(?) year old son. She told me that with passionate kids like Chipmunk and her son, we often don't see that their exploding emotions are actually a good thing. She told me that perseverance in a tantrum is the same perseverance when it comes to working hard and getting things done. It just takes a while before we learn to redirect those passions towards a better outlet. Hmmmm...

I think I've been mentally in this "why is he doing this to me?" state, that I'd forgotten that Chipmunk, although pint-sized, is his own person. He feels strongly, loves deeply, and does things in his own way. I have to learn about who he is before I can "redirect" his emotional overflow. As Bear is our mild-mannered, warm-hearted, cautious child, Chipmunk is our deeply passionate, headstrong, fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants kid who doesn't hesitate to let you know how he feels. And oh boy does he let you know.

So when all is said and done, he might rant and rave a while, but once he's done, that's when he'll get to the heart of the matter. I just need to be there to listen.

Happy Lunar New Year

Happy Chinese New Year!

Oh, wait, you say something is wrong with the picture above? There's only one kid...not two?

Heh heh...yeah, well we had a little incident trying to get Chipmunk dressed up for the picture.

Let's just say there were enormous fits trying to get him into his Chinese outfit. He saw the red, satiny pants, shirt and hat and just started screaming "NOOOOOOOO NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!"

After some negotiating on our part and Chipmunk continuing to scream his head off, we decided it wasn't worth it (Sorry Great Grandmas...we tried).

What can we say, our two year old has his own fashion sense and shiny, red outfits don't belong in his idea of acceptable wardrobe.

However, wearing buckets on his head...that's considered acceptable. Go figure.

Cartoonish

I was telling Matt today that Chipmunk reminds me of a cartoon character...There's just something about his silly grin and his facial expressions where his "mugshots" are rather...er...cartoonish.



2 months old



3 months old



5 months old



12 months old



22 months old

I swear it's like watching a cartoon grow up. Of course, it's also fun when he throws his head back, laughs really loud, "AHAHAHA!" and then smiles real big and says, "Funny!"

Can't argue with that...he is funny.