in the buff

why do kids think it's so hilarious to be naked? if i tell malia to go into the bathroom and take off her clothes because she is going to shower, she is running around naked in the rooms before i can even get to the bathroom with her pjs. then micah thinks it's funny and somehow it turns into 'naked time' and his clothes are off. then he's chasing her around saying he's going to pee on her. that's when i step in and say, "that's enough, get your little butt in the shower."

and last week i was baking at my sister's house. her 1 year old, joelle, who was fully clothed the last time i looked at her, walked by and she was naked with a big grin on her face. then she started dancing. it was funny to me because it wasn't my kid.

i know that kids are still curious and getting comfortable in their bodies. but i don't know about this 'naked time', i don't let it last for very long when it happens. and at least they don't run around and giggle every time they are naked.

prayer request

i've been a bit physically and mentally off this month due to some unnecessary added stress. don't get me wrong, we've still had a lot of fun this month with the parties and visitors. it's the other things like bills, work, etc. sometimes i have to force myself to take a step back and tell myself that things could be worse. and playing with the kids is a good reminder that the stress is temporary, and that it's usually worth it in the end. their laughter is such a good remedy.

this morning i had a conversation with a co-worker that made my worries seem so minuscule. i learned that my other co-worker recently found out her 4 year old son has multiple tumors in his stomach. my heart sank and i immediately felt the need to hug my children. i've been praying for him since then. life is so precious. kids are such a great gift from God. why was i even worrying about the other things? only God knows what's best for him. but if you're reading this, please pray for little raoul and his family, for strength. thank you.

*update 7.30.10* after many tests, it was determined that raoul is suffering from stage 3 burkitt's lymphoma and just started chemo. the doctors have told the family that many children do well on the treatment.

malia the 2nd grader

malia started 2nd grade yesterday. her new teacher is ms. neilson. roel already warned her that malia has a lot of energy. i think he forgot to mention how emotional she is. malia expends so much energy at one given time that she doesn't realize she's wearing herself out. so in the afternoon, i guess she was extremely tired, she started crying for daddy. of course, she bounced back after a minute or two and was her usual self. other than that, the first day was fine.

i already knew she was dead tired the minute she walked in the door. she was also hungry since she ate her lunch at snack time, which left only her snack for lunch time. ay malia joy! so she was trying to eat everything in site when she got home.

hopefully she is getting back into the routine and today is better.

*roel sent me this picture. can you tell that he brings her in the morning? her collar is tucked in, she's dragging her sweater, hair in her face, etc. too funny! but i am so thankful he does that, it's hard to get the kids going in the morning and getting to school on time.

questions

having kids that talk a lot means lots of questions, in addition to everything else they have to say. sometimes they're funny, sometimes random, and sometimes just plain odd. i don't always have the answers. so if someone's not around to answer for me, then i just make up an answer. it's harmless.

here are some of the questions i've heard just today, in no particular order. you can take a guess at who asked it and how i answered.

can we go to the party now?

why is this stuff here?

is this the present, where's my present?

why do you have moles mom?

can you buy me a big blue garbage truck?

is the party close or far?

why did you turn left? (i have 2 backseat drivers)

what are doldrums? (completely random)

i don't like it, why papa buy that?

am i going to school tomorrow? (asked 10 times in a row)

am i going to grandma's house tomorrow?

why does daddy have hair in his nose?

it's good that they ask questions because they learn new things that way. but there are times when i have to announce that it's quiet time...so i won't go insane ;).

snakes are not your friends

really hot today. picked up micah from school and we made smoothies together. then we sat down to watch diego together. it was about diego helping an anaconda. to micah, it's just a snake. great, just the other day i was telling the kids that they shouldn't go too far out in the backyard because of snakes. we've had snakes in the past because there's a canyon nearby. thankfully we haven't come across any for 7 or 8 years, but you just never know, and they like to come out in the heat. well, i couldn't change the channel because he would have a fit. so i started telling him that only diego can touch the snake, and just on the tv. micah turns to me and says,"no ma-mom, the snakes are my fwens." "NO," i said,"they will bite you and give you owies." he didn't buy it, he said that they were nice. so i just told him if he ever saw a snake he needs to run and get an adult right away. at least he agreed to that. now i have to go and buy some snake repellent for the backyard. thanks diego.

btw, why is dora's head way bigger than diego's?

our sf trip

when i was younger, my family took a lot of road trips. vancouver, yosemite, san francisco, and vegas were some of the long road trips i remember. it's definitely cheaper than flying. but now that i'm the driver, i might pick the alternative next time.

the drive

we made it to san francisco after a 9.5 hour drive. that was good because i estimated a 10 hour drive. we headed out just before 6am, the kids were awake but they were zombies for the 1st hour (i liked that). for the 2nd hour, it was 'find the garbage truck' game. after that, micah was upset there were no more garbage trucks passing by, so it was time for other activities to keep the two busy. into the 8th hour, i was a bit cranky. (first of all, i'm the driver since i get motion sickness. i could sit in the front seat, but then i would make a bad 'back seat driver.') after driving 200 miles through the boonies with nothing to look at but fields and smelling cows, i just wanted to get there already. plus after we ate and used the potty and just got back on the freeway, i hear from both of them, "i need to use the potty." this was in 88 degree weather and we had to stand and wait because it was a one person bathroom. but finally, after 500+ miles, we made it there safely and the kids were in awe. we had to wake up lia so she could enjoy the bay bridge.

"we're here"

our room

we stayed at the wyndham canterbury in a one bedroom presidential suite. the place was really nice, wood floors, flat screen tvs, dimming lights. my favorite thing is always the washer and dryer in the room so we don't end up bringing a lot of dirty laundry home. there was plenty of room for the kids to run around. the only downside was the parking, no choice but valet. but that's not surprising due to the location. it's walking distance to union square, china town, and the cable cars.

first night (thursday)

since we arrived late in the afternoon, the fog had already rolled in. we walked up and down the streets to union square and found some good thai food to eat on the way back. then we just watched tv in the room and had popcorn.

friday

the kids were anxious to see the golden gate bridge, so the first thing we did was drive across it. toll cost was $6. it was too cold to get down and walk it at the time so we went to japantown.

we especially liked the mini grocery store there and stocked up on snacks for the drive home. after that, we headed to pier 39. roel's cousins, the radoc family, met us there. m&m got to meet their cousins, brandon and regina. we looked at the seals, played in the arcade, ate mini donuts and dinner there.

saturday

it was off to ride the cable car. we waited in line for about 45 minutes, the kids did pretty well. they saw some street performers and the cable car turnaround. we took the cable car to the cable car museum. it was neat to see the big wheels that turn the cables underground.

it was a 6 block walk back to the wyndham with steep hills. the kids didn't mind it at all and enjoyed the walk.

then we met up with the cousins again. they treated us to a yummy seafood buffet.

sunday

it was time to head back home. we left at 7am, both kids were up but not really ready to be in the car for the long drive again. neither was i. but surprisingly, it wasn't that bad. we didn't even hit traffic anywhere. but we did drive through a storm. it was interesting to see it as we drove toward it. and there was a cool lightning show. micah also had his first nature potty experience since he said he needed to go just after we passed a sign that said next exit 25 miles. another 9.5 hour drive, thank god we had such a safe trip.

now i know why my dad always wanted me to tell him a story on the long drives, they are really tiring. even though flying might be a bit easier, i have a lot of memories i cherish from those family road trips. and i want my kids to have those also. so they might just have to suffer a few more road trips.