email

There's a benefit to having your child know how to read, type, and do supervised email. :)

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Date: Tue, 16 Dec 2008 14:20:23 -0500
From: zacharyneill
To: elise_neill
Subject: Hi


Hi mom you"re the best mom I"ll ever have.







I love you.

Daisies

Asia is now in Girl Scouts - the Daisies. I don't remember there being a Daisies group. Es was in Brownies. I was in Girl Scouts, but I only remember being in it for like one year. I didn't even ever buy the outfit - the whole green sash, dress, hat. I did get a bunch of the pins and badges. Anyway, this week was the Daisy Christmas party with a little gift exchange. Each girl brings a wrapped present, then the scout leader read a story and every time she said the word "Santa" the kids had to pass their gifts over to the next person in the circle. Then when the story was done, everyone had a different gift in their hands. Asia ended up getting a charm bracelet set. It was cute. She had a great time. A bunch of her friends are in the Daisy group so she really likes to go.

Holiday Concert

Asia had her Kindergarten concert this Friday night. She was so excited! I'm glad to see such energy in her. Instead of trepidation about a performance. She did well too. She actually looked bored towards the end. The kids sang like 13 or 15 songs! I don't know how they could have memorized them all or maybe they didn't. I'm sure there was a lot of mumbling here and there. I didn't even know all the songs.

So here's the more embarassing thing. When the kids got onto the stage in the beginning, Asia lifted up her skirt! She had been complaining a little bit about her underwear falling down and I tried to fix her skirt before the concert began but she was so excited about the concert that she didn't want to wait. She had to go with Mrs. Swegan to get her Santa hat! So anyway, as she was walking up the stage, she was pulling up her dress so that she could pull up her tights! She had no qualms about it. Of course, she wasn't showing anything since she had white tights on. And of course, there were chuckles in the audience. It had to be my daughter. Yes, no anxiety or stage-fright all right.

Dear Mom....

This is from the newspaper clipping in the Austin newspaper or the funeral website. I forget which.

Sha-Li Cheung of Austin, TX, formerly from Ohio and Taiwan, died on Sunday, May 4, 2008. She will be missed dearly by her family: her husband, David; children, Elise Neill (and husband John), Esther Cheung, Samuel Cheung; her grandchildren, Asia and Zachary; along with many other family members and friends. Her life was a life of expressing Christ to all who knew her – in her cooking, in her singing, in her caring.

Sha-Li enjoyed baking and decorating cakes in her kitchen while listening to hymns CDs. Her home was always open for friends to stop by for dinner or conversation. Her caring and generosity was a major part of her service in the Church in Austin. Services will be held at 1 pm on Saturday, May 10, 2008 at Wilke-Clay-Fish Funeral Home, 2620 South Congress, Austin, Texas. The burial will follow at Onion Creek Memorial Park.

This is from my mom's funeral, my little eulogy. I've been putting off adding this to my blog because it makes me sad, but I'd like to put it in now as a dedication to my mom. I miss her so much.

******

Dear Mom,

I miss you. I miss you telling my kids to eat their vegetables, and then making them a chocolate cake with strawberries. I miss you reminding my kids of the starving people in China. I miss your cooking. Thank you for leaving dumplings in my freezer and the peapods from your garden. I wish I could have spent more time with you, writing down your recipes. I figured I had all the time in the world. I always envied your garden. Why didn’t I inherit your green thumb? You would send me pictures of your vegetables growing, taking over the whole yard. I would plant the long beans and peapod seeds that you sent to me in the mail and then watch them bear perhaps two or three measly beans. I wondered whether it was that Texas weather or just your miracle touch.

I was going through your purse the other day and I got more of a glimpse of just who my Mother was - besides being the one who nurtured me, gave me character, and fed me. There were Mystery of Human Life gospel tracts. I could see you reading those with ones seeking something more in life. There was a well-used address book. Sam, Esther, and I were in there quite a few times from all of our moving around. There were pieces of paper with brothers’ and sisters’ names on it, receipts of some sort. You were active, Mom. To the day you died, you were so involved in the church life, in family life, and you even left some time for yourself – to learn to decorate cakes and grow a garden.
You weren’t supposed to leave yet. Not for at least another 20 years. But Mom, you lived your life to the fullest. I’ll miss you.

And then I added a PS that I spoke in the eulogy. It really was something I added in the morning of the funeral. I had typed out my eulogy the night before.

P.S. I thought that if something like this would ever happen, I would be so angry at the Lord. Forsake Him or something. Instead, I feel the Lord's arms around me, holding me firmly and whispering, "Do you still love Me?" I have to answer, with no hesitation, "Yes, Lord, I still love You. I want my mom bad, but Lord, I do love you."

zach snack

So ask me what I did with my evening? In honor of Zach's birthday tomorrow and a short day of school due to the Thanksgiving holiday, I made buckeyes - chocolate-covered peanut-butter balls - for Zach to bring to school to share with his second-grade class. Yes, I know. I pity the kid who's allergic to both chocolate and nuts. Get that kid a celery stick. And yes, I also know that I'm loading up these kids with sugar. But I figure, it's a short day! The parents get their kids for the rest of the day. The teachers won't have to deal with the sugar-high and then the subsequent sugar crash. Hey, I'm just not one of those mom's who brings healthy snacks to school. The healthiest I might get would be Harvest Cheddar Sun Chips or maybe those ones that say something about multi-grain. You won't see me supplying carrot sticks and ants on a log cream-cheese laden celery sticks. I know what kids want - sugar and peanut butter!

Another Big Scare

I think my kids like to give me a big jolt every now and then. See if I'm still alive. So the other day, around 7 in the morning, I heard this sounds like one of the kids coughed, puked, burped. Something. So I peeked my head out of the bedroom door and didn't see anyone up or moving about. If someone threw up, they'd be up and calling for one of us. So I went back to bed. Then maybe 20 minutes later, I heard it again - this time I can tell someone is throwing up or something. I check on Asia and she's sound asleep. I go in Zach's room and he's lying there, mouth open, and drool or puke or something coming out of his mouth. So I tell him to sit up while I get a towel and I tell John that Zach is throwing up. John put a trashcan on the bed and Zach threw up again. It was just mucus. But the weird thing is Zach had his head turned to the side, like he was embarassed about throwing up and didn't want us to see. So he kept spitting up (wasn't that much) but on his shirt or the blanket and not in the trashcan in front of him. I tried to tell him to spit in the trashcan, nudging him. But he kept his head turned to the side. I realized he wasn't hearing us, so I pulled him to me and his eyes were staring to the extreme right so I could barely see his pupils. And his head was stuck turned to the side. I kept talking to him asking him if he heard us, pinching him, gently shaking him. Eventually he came to, like out of a deep sleep. He didn't know what was going on and just wanted to go back to sleep. We let him, but kept checking on him to make sure he was okay. He woke up 1/2 an hour later with a headache. And then threw up some more. The next hour or so was me in a panic, going on the internet to see if Zach had a seizure. Calling my sister to see if she was still at home. Checking the pediatrician's hours and agonizing that they weren't going to be open for another hour. I ended up calling a different branch and they said we should bring Zach to the ER. I had read that too, but I really didn't want to bring Zach to the ER. The good thing about the ER is all the tests readily available, but the bad thing is the cost and the waiting and the waiting. I didn't want to put Zach through that.
Anyway, I ended up waiting and making an appointment with my usual pediatrician. John brought Zach in (poor kid was still throwing up every 20 minutes or so but no substance) and the doctor said Zach had a mild cold. A MILD cold!!! All that for a cold? Just too much mucus in Zach's tummy was causing him to vomit. But the seizure? The doctor couldn't explain that and said it was rare. We're just to see if it happens again. Ugh... I hope it doesn't. Stuff like this sticks with me forever.

Vacationing in the Dominican Republic

John, the kids and I went on a great vacation this past week. Five nights in a beach resort in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. All-included resort. We got the deluxe suite with a jacuzzi bath tub and shower, patio, drinks stocked daily in the mini fridge, fresh fruit plate each day. Pool in the front of our villa, beach right at the side, and right next to the kid's club. Here's a view of the villa we stayed in.

The room was pretty nice. We couldn't control the A/C though and it was always set at 21 degrees Celcius which was just too cold. Especially when you're running into your room from outside in the evening and you're wet from the pool. We almost always had the A/C off and just the patio doors open for a nice breeze.

The first night we were there, Asia got sick. I think it was from the milk I gave her to drink in the lobby. They had snacks and she wanted some milk. There was a carafe of milk next to the coffee, so I gave her some of that. I gave some to Zach too but he didn't drink much because he said it was warm. He doesn't like warm milk. It dawned on me later that this milk carafe must have been sitting there all day unrefrigerated. Poor Asia. She was nauseous at dinner and didn't want to eat. She ended up falling asleep on my lap. Then when we got to the room, she ran to the bathroom, but nothing happened. She woke me up in the middle of the night saying she didn't feel too well. So I put a trashcan near her bed and a towel. She woke up a few minutes later and puked all over the floor - near the trashcan. But pretty much on the floor and on my feet when I ran over to her. We used up most of the towels in the room. In the morning, I put them all in the balcony and then showed them personally to the cleaning lady so she'd know to take them out. Asia was still a little queazy during the day but by the evening, she was her old self again.

Here's a picture of Zach on the boogie board. The kids had a blast with it and then we left it in the hotel lobby when we got on the shuttle to go to the airport. Oh well.

One of the things we did at the resort was horseback riding. It came with the package. A 2 hour ride. I've never been horseback riding. None of the kids have, besides riding a pony on a fair. But those ponies are usually led by a trainer or tied to some kind of ring or something. This was like - here, get on a horse, and there you go! I swear the guide for our horse ride was swearing under his breath in Spanish and saying stuff about the Devil, like "what the devil?" John was thinking that more likely one of the horses was named Diablo - like the horse John had. It was so tall - perfect for John. But also a little headstrong. At one point when we stopped and were getting off of our horses, John's horse kicked out after John got off. The horse kicked my horse some (more my foot) and then almost kicked John! The horse that Asia and I rode liked to torture us by riding along the edge of the trail so that we ran into trees or were whipped by the bushes. I kept trying to steer the horse back to the middle and it would jerk his head. I think maybe these horses were just tired of being ridden all day? I tried to show it who was boss, but the last thing I wanted was for the horse to buck off me and Asia. And what do I know about horses? Just whatever I read about training dogs. Wonder if you can use the Dog Whisperer's tactics on horses? Here's a picture of me on the horse right after John's horse kicked my foot.

Zach got to ride on his own horse.

car mess

I was driving the kids somewhere the other day and while sitting at a traffic light, started thinking about the mess the car was in. Trash everywhere. Zach's sports equipment covering the floor. There was a tennis racquet, a light saber, numchucks, some soccer socks. Old juice boxes, sports drink bottles and granola bar wrappers. Books and papers full of drawings. Hockey pants. A water bottle. If someone were to analyze the family that drove this car, not only were they slobs, but I guess in a good way, they were obviously active - witness all the sports stuff - used too. And I guess you could say the family was creative - the papers full of drawings. And then maybe that the family had young kids who liked to read - the books. I read an article this past year about a woman who was doing an analysis on the contents of people's cars. She hadn't revealed her hypothesis yet, but if she did many multiple kid family's cars, I'm sure she found about the same thing - active chaos.
So then after analyzing our mess, I thought why is it that if you see a dad get out of a messy car, you feel for him. You think, what a great dad, taking care of the kids. And you ignore the mess in the car because it's almost expected. Now picture a mom getting out of this messy car with kids in tow, and if you are a mom, you might feel sorry for her or feel kinship with the mom. Now instead, you see a woman coming out with no kids in sight. You see the mess of the car, and you wonder what her problem is. Why is this woman such a slob! You know what I mean? A guy could get out of a messy car (with kids or not) and you don't think much of it. A girl gets out of a messy car and you think she has problems. What is it in our female brains that makes mess stand out so much? And riddle you with guilt? Even if you invite someone to your house, if the house is a mess, it's reflected on who? The mom or the wife. She can't take care of her household. She's on a sinking ship and obviously can't captain.

sleepwalking

I have something new to add to my motherhood paranoia. Yes, that paranoia that many mothers have of the worst things possible happening to their children even when there's a one in gazillion chance of it ever happening. Sleepwalking. Not my sleepwalking. Asia sleepwalking! I've heard her and Zach talk in their sleep before, that's not new. We all do that. But last night, John and I were watching a movie and I heard something outside my bedroom door. John paused the movie and I opened the door to see Asia kneeling on the floor. She had both hands twisting something imaginary and she was muttering something. I heard that you're not supposed to interrupt sleepwalkers, so I just picked her up and led her back to bed. She eventually woke up and told me she was thirsty. It spooked Zach too because he had heard something and got out of bed. I told him to go back to bed, but he came back to Asia's room a few times to see if she was okay. I wonder what she was dreaming about though. It was like she was turning two faucet knobs or something. Anyway, now I'm wondering, do I need a gate in front of the stairs? Would she fall down them? Would she walk somewhere else and hit her head? Ahhh! You get the paranoia now. So tonight, I put a bunch of stuffed animals around her legs. Hoping that they would deter her from moving too much. Or maybe they'll make a sound when they fall off the bed and she'll wake up. Good strategy, right? Stay tuned.

Back to School

Well the kids have been in school now for almost two weeks. They both love it so far. Zach has a new teacher - her first time teaching second grade. She's taught K and 3rd grade. Student-taught 1st and 5th. She's engaged. And yes, she's young! I think Zach will like her. She seems the type that all the young boys will like. She's pretty, dresses well and hip, and again, she's young and even single right now. She told us a story tonight at the parent/teacher opening night about how last year, her boyfriend sent flowers to the school before they were engaged. All the kids, especially the boys, wanted to know all about this person who sent the flowers, especially if it was a boy friend. Anyway, just the fact that she said she doesn't like to keep the kids at the desks in their seats, sounds like Zach will have a good time.

Asia too is enjoying Kindergarten. She's so ready for it. And she has so many friends in that grade that she sees in class or at lunch and recess. She has Zach's K teacher, too, so we know she's in good hands.

Here's a pic from the first day of school.

Cactii

Okay, what possessed me to let my 5 and 7 year old pick out and bring home their very own cactus to take care of? Their cute fuzziness made of prickles? Their interesting shapes that your dirty mind shouldn't be thinking of? Their greenness? Well, here's the story. Asia and I were at Home Depot. Yes, the construction supermarket of the gods where no stereotypical woman would go since it's so hard to find anything if you're unfamiliar with the layout and the terms. Unless you're just looking for paint. Or something for the garden. Signs like Paint and Garden are pretty helpful and straightforward. So Asia and I were outside in the garden area. John and Zach were over in the manly sections... looking for some gadgets to fix our darn fence gate that I can't stand. Back to the garden area. So Asia and I were looking around to see what foliage or flowers were still available to purchase during the end of the season. What color could I still put in those empty pots littering my front porch? I found some pretty mums, I think. Which are the same as carnations? Maybe not because then they'd be called carnations. Anyway, some pretty budding flowers. I chose two yellow ones and Asia chose a purple one. She was sitting in the cart with the flowers, which is unwise - something I found out when I took the crushed flowers home. Anyway, there wasn't much to buy besides shrubs and vines and trees, so as we were making our way to the checkout inside, lo and behold, we ran into a display of cactii and succulents. Doesn't those names sound enticing enough? Cactii and Succulents. Get them here. Way to go Home Depot marketing. The cashier even said that it seemed like a lot of people were buying cactus today. So there's this display of all these cute plants. Very few had prickles on them. And under 5 dollars each! So I told Asia she could pick one. I chose two. They looked so harmless. Then I called John and told him to meet us at the display so that Zach could pick one. While we were waiting, we looked at the other side of the display, and there were even prettier plants to choose from. Asia changed her mind and wanted this cute one that had this big pink blob on top. Again, no prickles that I could see. Then she looked at the top of the display and there were these long cactus plants each with a bring pink flower shooting out of the top. Asia changed her mind again and said she definitely wanted one of those. Well, of course, that had to be one of the prickliest of the bunch. Just a long tube of fine green prickles. Little feather looking ones. They didn't even look very sharp. We even touched them and it didn't hurt. By that time, Zach and John had joined us. Zach proceeded to find the scariest looking cactus of them all. Huge big prickles in threes all over the thing. But they were so big, I figured you couldn't miss them and therefore wouldn't touch them.
Anyway, we made it through checkout without any issue. Asia and Zach wanted to carry their cactus plants to the car and on the way home. We stopped by a grocery store so I could grab some milk, bread, and whatnot and when I came back, there was a little crying girl in the car. John, Zach, and Asia stayed in the car while I shopped - makes me shop faster. Very slick. Anyway, I found out that somehow, the plastic sleeve on Asia's plant had fallen off and also the plastic pot. So Asia was holding the catcus by the dirt roots. I opened the door and found the pot and the sleeve and put the cactus back in there. I asked her why she was still crying. Turns out she had prickles everywhere. Perhaps the cactus plant fell and she decided to catch them with her legs! Luckily she wasn't wearing shorts, but the prickles went through her pants anyway. The most painful was the one in her thumb. She wouldn't let us touch it. But she pointed out the prickles in her legs. About around her ankles like she had clamped her ankles together to catch or hold the cactus. All these little green pins on one side of her left and right ankle. I was going to try pulling them out but she insisted that no one should touch the prickles, but her. So she proceeded to start pulling them out, all the time crying. I called her Dr. Cactus. She was performing a medical feat on her own. On her self. She actually did manage to pull out most of those green prickles. John took out the rest later when we got home. He's the king of removing splinters, so removing prickles fell into his category.
So what possessed me to let them get those prickly plants and even replant them into nice pots and display them in my office and dining room? That darn Home Depot marketing.

What kind of Mom am I?

Last night, Asia asked me, "Have you played dolls before?"
I'm wondering what she's leading up to, so I answer, "Yes."
Asia adds, "But have you played dolls with me before?"
Does the girl have a bad memory? Or do I? I'm wracking my brain trying to remember the last time the two of us actually played dolls. Sure, I've bought her dolls. Told her to play with her dolls. It's after her bath time and she's playing in her room while I get her brother ready for his bath. That means, nagging him to get in the bathroom and get in the bath. Lately, he dawdles for ever before actually getting in the bath. First he probably goes to the toilet. Then he looks in the mirror while he's washing his hands. I usually hear him talking to himself so I'm assuming he's making faces in the mirror and pretending to be some superhero. At this point, I tell him to get in the bath. Eventually, I hear splashes of water and then, "Mom, the water's too cold!" This is because he's using the same bathwater that Asia was in. This is okay, right? I don't want to waste water and it's not like Asia peed in the water. So I tell him to turn on the hot water. This is logical. Why he has to tell me it's too cold and not just turn on the water is beyond me. I think it's like me telling my husband that the trash in the kitchen is full. He knows it's full. That's why he started stacking the trash above the trash can. My statement means, take out the trash now. I just don't say it that way. So I think that's what Zach means when he tells me the water is cold and knows that he can turn on the hot water himself. He wants me to come over and turn on the hot water for him. And often it's because he's completely immersed in the water or again, making faces in the reflection on the faucet.
So back to Asia and playing with dolls. We're having some quiet time before bedtime. She's asking me if I've played dolls with her before. I'm sure I have. I can't remember when, but I'm positive there was one time in her five years on this earth. So I tell Asia that yes, I have played dolls with her.
Asia says, "I don't think you have. Do you know what you play with me?"
I'm dreading the answer.
"Webkinz." She says.
And it is so true! What do I like playing with her? Computer games! Not playing with the actual Webkinz stuffed animals. But computer games. So I felt some guilt. But I still didn't play dolls with her. I watched her play dolls. It was more amusing. If she's happy playing on her own, why interrupt?

So today, I vowed, well not really, I planned for less computer time. We first went to the library. I forgot it was closed. So we went to a restaurant across the street of the library and ate. While waiting for our food, I had Zach write down as many words as he could that ended in op and then finish a book. Asia drew pictures and then we worked on some words too. She can read maybe 20 words. I think that will pick up like lightning in Kindergarten this year.
Then we went to Bruester's for ice cream. Representatives from the animal shelter were actually at the ice cream shop, so the kids played with two dogs there. One was a really cute minitaure pinscher named Zeus who is about 2 1/2 years old. Very cute little guy. Very mellow. He had just been dropped off at the animal shelter the day before. Apparently he wasn't getting along with one of the owner's cats. Poor doggie. We then went to Target. See this is what I do with the kid's on weekends when John's out doing his thing (rafting today). We go out to eat and we go shopping.
Now what are the kids doing? Playing in a mud puddle in our backyard. Again, the best of intentions - I was going to pull out our kiddie pool, except that it had been sitting curled up at the side of our house all winter. So it was all muddy and had bugs on it. By the time I had it out flat and somewhat rinsed off, I was too tired. Not only that, I couldn't find the air pump. So I sprayed the kids with water and then let them loose with the water hose. They decided to make a huge water puddle. Hey, if they're happy, I'm happy.

Chicago

I'm finally back in Pittsburgh, trying to get back on schedule. We were in Chicago last week. Or Chicago parts. First two days in a hotel by O'hare, spent a night at Hans & Grace's in Prospect Heights, another night at John's dad's house in Streamwood, two nights at Tom's house in Irving Park, and a night at Nick & Kathy's in Evanston. So if you're a die-hard Chicagoan, you might say we stayed in suburbs all week and weren't really in Chicago. If you're from out of town, then it's all the same. Metro Chicago, I believe would be the term. I worked the whole time, but I did manage to take time off to have dinner with our friends Avni and Ardita in the South Loop area. Zach and their son, Rron, went to preschool together. It's great for them to be still friends after we moved away. I also took a 1/2 day off to go to our old neighborhood on Taylor St and have lunch at Francesca's with Zach & Asia's old babysitter, Joyce. On Saturday, we also hung out with Marissa. The kids got to help her with some cookie-making as well as jump on her bed. I got my Korean food fix at Nick & Kathy's. I have yet to find a good Korean restaurant in Pittsburgh. I sorta found a good Chinese restaurant in Squirrel Hill. It's just quite a hike to get there because of the traffic on 376 and constructions. Yuck. The kids also had a blast in Irving Park, staying with their cousins - Justin, Christian, Seth, Henna, as well as Christian's girlfriend, Cora. Zach got to sleep in the basement with Seth and probably stayed up late playing video games. And then woke up and played video games. Now how dreamy is that for a 7 year old? Anyway, it was a whirlwind, but fun. Good to see old haunts and old friends. Not enough time to see everyone of course. John has this idea now that he wants to rent a place next summer and stay in Chicago for about 6 weeks. Could be fun. We'll see.

bittersweet

I'm in Austin, TX this weekend. First I was in Harrisburg, packing up my sis's stuff. She transferred her residency to Houston, TX and didn't lose a year! She's transferring right in as chief resident (4th year). How divine is that? Now she'll only be 3 hours away from my dad, versus 23 hours. But now she'll be 20 some hours from me. You win some, you lose some. So anyway, I helped Es pack up her stuff because she was working til 6/30 (on call that weekend) and then had to be in her new apartment by 7/3. Her hours were so crazy. Even when she was "backup" on pager, she still had to go in. One night, she called to say she was done and that we can go out to dinner (when my dad was in town already). I got all dressed up and then just as she's pulling into the garage, she gets paged. Apparently a little 2 year old girl was running around and fell down some stairs or something while holding a toothbrush in her mouth. It wasn't a baby toothbrush either. So the dad cut off part of the toothbrush and the little girl was rushed to the hospital. Es said she had to cut into the little girl's neck to remove the head of the toothbrush. A toothbrush! You wouldn't think that would be very sharp and puncture your throat! So anyway, we couldn't go out to eat since my dad's truck was hitched to this big Uhaul and Es had to drive back to the hospital. What a life! I now understand one of the reasons doctors get paid so much once they're out of residency. They go through pure hell for those 3-10 years of residency.
Es was so lucky in finding a nice apartment online without ever having seen it! No floor plan. Just google maps and hearsay from friends. She really didn't have much choice, also because of having 2 dogs. One of the apartment complexes wouldn't take both dogs. So we packed up her stuff and loaded it into a Ford pick-up truck my dad rented that was towing a 12x6 UHaul trailer. Her stuff almost didn't fit. She had to leave behind her doggie door insert and some patio chairs. I also sold off two of her couches, lawnmower, lamp, and her guest bed. Thank you Craigslist! You sell it cheap enough, it goes! I actually sold the guest bed first. A family was moving from an apartment to a new house and looking for more furniture. The wife actually said she was looking for beds for the kids, but when she saw my posting, she thought it'd be nice to have a newer bed for her and her husband. When she and her husband came to pick up the bed, I asked her if she wanted couches too. I told her I already had an offer of 75 for the two, so if she wanted to beat that price, she could have them. She took them for 100 and also bought a lamp for 5 bucks. The kicker is that Es got the couches and the lamp free from a friend. The lawnmower was also a hand-me-down.
Back to the trip from Harrisburg to Houston. Not bad of a trip at all. My dad drove the pick-up the whole time. Es and I traded off driving her car - loaded down with her guitars, keyboard, miscellaneous stuff, and two dogs. Boy, those dogs were so good on the whole trip. My dog would have been getting antsy. But he's only a year and a half. Cous and Cory are like teenagers already - in dog years. We stayed in hotels on the way - one in Wytheville, VA and the other in Baton Rouge, LA. Thanks to my visa card points - free hotel nights. I forgot about the dogs though and didn't look into hotels that accepted pets. Cous and Cory had to spend those nights in Es' car. Can you believe it? Again, they were so well-behaved!
We arrived in Houston and found Es' apartment complex. Nice gated community. Interesting demographics. Very un-Harrisburg/Hershey and very un-Pittsburgh. Probably very un-Pennsylvania. Surprising enough, the apartment was pretty nice. A one bedroom with a little study connected to it. Nice sized living room, dining room, and kitchen. Nothing compared to owning an actual 3 bedroom house, but for 2 years, it'll be comfy. I hope.
I drove back to Austin with my dad on Saturday. Now I've been just taking it easy. Catching up on the internet (my sis didn't have her internet hooked up yet - we spent hours on the phone on the car trip to Houston yelling at AT&T because they couldn't hook up her internet until 7 business days later - not counting 7/4 and the weekends - AT&T entertainment said they could hook up the cable in 3 days, AT&T internet needed 7 days just to process the account information! Get it together AT&T!), enjoying Texas weather and getting some sun. The sad part is that I keep seeing little things here and there that remind me of my mom. I was cooking dinner and started getting teary-eyed because I thought, my mom should be standing here cooking. This is her kitchen, not mine. Earlier, I had been cleaning out one of the refrigerators because my dad turned it off to clean it and never got to it before he left for PA. So I was throwing stuff away and came upon my mom's stash of cake frosting and the little frosting flowers she was practicing making. They were so cute - little pink flowers and hearts. I hated throwing them away. I could picture Mom making them. Her hobby - cake decorating. She was so proud of her cakes. I still couldn't bear to throw it all away. How long does purple frosting last? Hopefully forever. I drove by Walgreens on the way to my dad's house and got teary-eyed, just remembering when I would take my mom to there or CVS to pick up her arthritis prescriptions.
My dad and I stopped by her grave today after the meeting so we could check on it. The gravestone must have just been installed. It's very nice. It says, "Precious in the sight of the Lord." I'm hoping that in a few weeks, the grass will have been planted and the grave area cleaned up. Then Es is supposed to help put some flowers in. Okay, now I'm getting weepy again so I'll type more some other time.

hello webkinz

My kids have finally joined the webkinz world. I tried to wait until the hype was over, but that hasn't happened yet. So what did I do? I let the kids buy their own webkinz. They get a kick out of using their own money. So welcome Patches the dog and Leo the tiger. And of course, what comes along with these cute little stuffed animals? An entire world on the web. Zach and Asia have been playing their website every day. And the sad thing is, John and I am hooked as well. Sure, we'll play some games for you so that you can earn some kinzcash or whatever that money stuff is called. Zach and I played Go Fish against each other. It was supposed to be Asia and Zach but as soon as Asia lost some cards to Zach, she stopped playing so I took over. Poor little boy. I didn't think he'd be so sensitive when he lost. Am I a better mom if I let him win or is it better to play a fair game against him? I haven't figured that one out yet.

Clementine

I was watering the grape vine, clementis, strawberry, and raspberry plants this morning and unearthed a bunch of young wild bunnies. They were hopping around, so I ran inside and told the kids to come outside and take a look. Asia managed to corner one on the stairs down to the driveway and scooped it up. She's named it Clementine. We got a cardboard box for it and Zach cut some carrots for it. They put grass and dirt in the box along with some water. They labelled the box with their names as the proud owners of a new bunny. Unfortunately, since Asia's been holding it everywhere, bringing it on the swing with her, and sitting in the sun with her, the bunny hasn't moved. If you put it back in the box or on the ground, it just sits there in whatever position you place it in. I fear that either Asia squeezed it too hard or else it's just scared almost to death. Asia said she's gentle with it and actually when I hold the bunny, it does just sit there. It doesn't fight at all. I tried to give it some water from a dropper. Anyway, it did just show some signs of life. It peed on Asia's skirt when she had it sitting on her lap. That's a good sign. ha! And when she put it down in my garden area, it started to take off until Asia scooped it back up. I figure we'll let Asia take care of it for a day or so and then let it free. I think I saw its mom hop by this morning.

First Boyfriend

It's official. Asia said to me this morning, "Jack is my boyfriend. I love him. I want to marry him." Then she said, "He said he wants to marry me too." I was about to say, "Okay, just tell Jack you have to wait until you graduate from college." But that's silly to tell a preschooler at this point. You're supposed to foster this love for others, right? hee hee. And I know that it's all innocent at this age. So anyway, I wanted to record this so that when Asia is older, I can tease her about it. I actually remember playing a lot with a boy named Daniel back when I was in Kindergarten age. Apparently the two of us were a couple. I can't remember if I ever used the term boyfriend back then. I'll have to ask my mom. But I do remember that we had chicken pox together and I believe my mom said I kissed him at some point. My mom has some photos of Daniel and I together. Holding hands and whatever. Like mother, like daughter, I suppose.

Music Man

Today was Zach's musical from his drama class at Spotlight Performing Arts down the street. It was a riot watching him on stage. We practiced the two songs he needed to know from Sound of Music - Do a Deer and Favorite Things. I can't say that we practiced them that much and he didn't even want to practice them on the way to the theatre tonight. He did have a 4 hour dress rehearsal this morning though. Anyway, it was quite interesting. First off, I didn't have him dress up for the dress rehearsal. He said he was the only one not wearing what he was supposed to be wearing. The main reason was that he was supposed to wear black dress pants and he doesn't have any. I didn't want to go and buy a pair just for this concert. So I called around to see if we could borrow a pair and no one had any that were his size or black. So the little guy wore his dark blue dress pants that my mom bought him - part of a blue suit. It looked fine on stage. You couldn't even tell that they weren't black.
When Zach's group was singing (1st and 2nd graders), I was cracking up like crazy. Zach and his friend Summer were so cute! I was pretty much crying because it was so hilarious. Zach was so animated. He had this humongous grin on his face while he was singing. He just seemed to be really enjoying himself up there. This is one of the reason's why I signed him up again. At first, he wasn't going to continue the next term for the drama class, but I told him that it wasn't going to be singing this time and was going to be Aladdin Jr. I also told him to tell the teacher that he should play the part of Abu, the monkey.
Anyway, back to the musical. Zach was right up there in the front. He didn't look nervous or shy at all. He looked so natural and just really like he was enjoying it up there. You could tell he didn't totally know his part because he looked at Summer a few times to see what she was doing. The teachers also threw in an extra song 2 weeks ago. Zach's drama class only meets once a week, so that was kind of late to throw in a song. It was one that everyone sang in but they stuck Zach's group right up front. He sure did look like he knew the words though. The only part was at the end, he was supposed to stick his arms up in the air and he was the only not doing it. Then he noticed that the people around him had his arms up, so he stuck them up at the last beat. I saw him put his head down like he knew he messed up. But the lights went out at that point. And I noticed that his hands were still up even though every one else's were now down and they were lining up to leave the stage. It was too hilarious. The good thing is it seems like stuff like this just rolls off his back. Sports stuff - when he messes up or loses, he holds it more to his heart. But messing up on stage, seemed like just fun. He didn't mind as much. We'll see how it goes with this next drama class, but he does seem like a natural.

Another scare

I think kids are sometimes created just to freak the heck out of the parents. Keep the parents on edge. Make them paranoid. When you don't have to worry that much about someone else, your life is so much calmer. Then all of a sudden, you give birth to these little beings and you have to nurture them, feed them, clothe them, and make sure they grow up to be good people. That's a lot of pressure. Egads! So to add to my paranoia on whether my kids will grow up to be outstanding citizens, Asia adds this little piece of kindling to the fire.

Apparently, she was standing on a chair trying to get something and fell off the chair, possibly hitting her stomach on the chair. I was in the kitchen and just heard this groan. I knew she was really hurt with that kind of groan. So I ran over to her in the dining room and she's bowled over, holding her stomach, still groaning. I asked her what was wrong and she said she hit her stomache. Then she kind of went into a trance. I picked her up and she stayed in her bowled over position, like she was frozen. So I sorta straightened her out, patting her on the back, and calling her name to wake her up. She wasn't asleep, just in shock. I called her name and turned her head to look at me and her eyes was open but not really seeing. Then I called her name again, and she finally responded, "What?" I told her that she hadn't been answering me. She just had this scared look on her face, like "What are you talking about Mom?" Boy did that give me the shivers.

Anyway, she was fine after that. Just a little shaken up. She ate some spaghetti then lied down for a little bit and then she was off to play at her friend Lydia's since today is a snow day so no school. Just to re-assure myself, I called the doctor and he said that most likely she scared herself and should be fine. If she starts to vomit or complain about pain, then I can take her to the ER. So is he saying my daughter's a wimp? She can't take the pain? Ha. Anyway, the paranoia sets in when you think... what if she does this at school or anywhere where I'm not there? That's a mom's paranoia. What if something happens to your child when you're not there to save them...

Enough paranoia for today. I'm going to get some coffee or maybe chocolate. That'd be good.

brown baby

A song that Asia learned in school. But here's her version:

John's brown baby had a cold in his chest,
cold in his chest,
cold in his chest.
John's brown baby had a cold in his chest
so he slobbered it with mentholated goo.
Eww!!


I think the words are really supposed to be like:
John Brown's baby had a cold in his chest...
so he slathered it with mentholated goo.

But hey, brown baby makes sense too. The mentholated goo word was a bit tough to get the first time. It was like menth.... mentho... mentholated goo. So she did get it eventually. No prompting from me since I didn't even know the words.

Now Asia's singing:

It's Valentine's day.. it's valentine's day.. it's valentine's day tomorrow.

Glasses for Z.N.

Zach has glasses now. I think his prescription is something like -1. Yes, nearsighted. Just like his mom and dad. Just like my parents. I'm not sure if nearsightedness is hereditary or not. My mom said her mom had 20/20. But then there's the theory about reading at night without adequate light - straining your eyes and thus making you nearsighted. Who knows. Zach even eats lots of carrots, which are supposed to be good for your eyes. But to no avail.
The good thing is, he looks good in his glasses. They're these cute dark blue plastic glasses. We actually got 3 pairs for him. One from the eye doctor, the other two from a web site that sells glasses starting at 9 dollars or so. Add on shipping, and other things like anti-glare, and still your glasses only cost 20-40 dollars. Pretty good. Especially for kids. And here's why.
Zach's always losing his glasses. Since he's not used to wearing them all the time, he'll take them off and place them where-ever. Including the floor. Well, yesterday, he left them on my bed. I didn't know this, though. I thought he was wearing them when he went to school. Later in the evening, I notice him wearing another pair and found out that he didn't know where his blue glasses were. Turns out that Jersey had made a chew toy out of them. They were under my bed. One of the glass panes was gone. Still haven't found it yet. And the frame was cracked. Jersey had a good time with those glasses. Nevertheless, I made Zach pay for 1/2 of the cost so that we could buy him another pair just like those cute blue ones. Good thing it only cost him 12 bucks.

Zoofari

We went to a drive-through safari near San Antonio. The kids loved throwing food out of the car windows. Then since the car had a sun roof, they got a kick out of standing up in the car with their bodies sticking out of the roof. I guess that's another reason the speed limit is 5 mph. Not only do you not want to run over the animals in the road, you don't want to jettison your kids out of the sunroof. Even when we first drove into the park, I saw a dad drive out with his daughter in his lap and his son hanging out of the sun roof.

A lot of the animals would just stand by the side of the road, eating grass. There were so many cars there that I think they had their fill of food. Others would walk by and stop for the food you throw in the road. It was the zebras and ostriches that really got right up into your car and if you had your window down, like many did, those zebras would stick their face right in. See the proof. Zach was digging it! Asia made sure we rolled up her window, and so did my mom.

2008 Begins

It is 2008. Happy New Year. My son is 7 years old. My daughter will be 5. Time flies. I'm sitting at the dining room table in my parents' house in Pflugerville, a suburb of Austin. When I look at the pictures of the kids around my parents' house, I realize how fast these kids are growing. We sit at this dining room table together maybe twice a year, so when I have flashbacks of sitting here for my dad's birthday or the first time Es, Sam, and I were back together again after we had gone our different paths, or when the kids showed their Nai-Nai that they really do eat vegetables, I see the changes. Asia on my lap, then in a high chair. Zach riding around in a new bike with training wheels, then barely being able to ride it now even with the training wheels off. Asia has to have the seat of her bike lifted a notch or so everytime she's here. They toys they play with. They still love running around and rolling on the carpet since this whole house is practically all carpet. Zach now plays real music on the piano since he's taking lessons. They're really growing up.