Mom, You're Saying it Wrong

"Mom, you're saying it wrong." My 12 year old was correcting my pronunciation of Gangnam. You know, the video that took the world by storm. The viral Korean music video that has gotten billions of hits.

"How do I say it then?" I asked.

"It's Gang Nam. Like your tooth has "gone numb". You say it Gone Numb."

"Uh okay "gone numb." Got it. But then which syllable do you accentuate?"

"I donno. Let me check the video... It's GONE numb."

"Okay so I'll say it GONE numb."

I took out all the laugher from the conversation so that you can understand our silly banter without sarcasm.

So difficult to communicate with the next gen. I just got a lesson in Korean!

But I figured if you're like me, you'll need to lesson so that you can fit in with the teens in your life. LOL

Tip: Lower your speaker volume before you hit play.

birthday blessing

Celebrating my dad's 75th birthday was a blessing. I enjoyed seeing my aunt, his sister, and chatting with my niece that I haven't seen in a few years.

I did a little video last minute for him as his present from our family.

Because...what do you get your dad for his 75th birthday??

Enjoy.

kids and humor

You know kids say the funniest things. I should be jotting all these precious moments down! So here's my attempt lately with my four year old's musings.

J is a 4yo boy
H is a girl in the 1st grade

J said to H, "Wow you have a lot of mates."
Me, "Do you mean mates as in schoolmates?"

J askes H, "Does chocolate melt?"
H, "Yes and when you have a Hershey's kiss in your mouth it's hard to talk."
J, "Yeah, Pershey's kisses melt in your mouth."

I'll add to this list later. What happens is that you hear some funny things and then when you wait and don't write them down you lose them! It all happens so fast.

creating fun photo gifts

It's that time of year again...Christmastime!

Okay so it's not even October yet but the end of the year will be here before you know it. And I'm always looking for meaningful gifts to give to family and friends. If you're like me, you like to make your gifts. I feel like the spirit of giving is greater if I'm able to create it rather than just buy it.

Sometimes I do succomb to the retail pressures and the bukoo advertising dollars spent trying to get me to buy the latest gadget, hip new iproduct, or newest fashions for the girls in my life. But not without a fight.

So over the years I've created some photo calendars and photo books (even mugs, ornaments, birth announcements, and Christmas cards...but that's for another day) for family and friends. Somehow just having pictures to look at in a compact little book or calendar far outweighs the many thousands of pictures on my computer. (And just on my iMac alone, not including the two other laptops, I have 34,921 pictures. Oh my!)

I love browsing through past pictures in my books, remembering the good times and all the warm memories. I'm somewhat of a photo freak...I must pull out a camera and snap a pic at things that I want to remember. I can't help it.

You've probably seen obnoxious Japanese tourists getting in the way and taking too many pictures? Yes, that could be me.

But you have to take lots of pics to get one good one. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

So this is only one of the many I've created, given to a dear friend for Christmas. Hope you enjoy it as much as I had fun making it.

PS Have you created one before? I've used Blurb, iPhoto, and Shutterfly. What have you used?

Friends 2009 by The Striplings | Make Your Own Book

bittersweet

I took the kids to the Lafayette library today to get them new cards. While doing my best to keep my younger kids from rambunctiously running between the kids who were trying to study, I met a new friend.

Amazingly enough we had much in common. Within three minutes of chatting quietly in the middle of a library walkway, we concluded that we:

• Both moved to the area less than two months ago,
• Both have an 11yo son in four classes together at school,
• We're both Asian, :)
• Both have an iPhone. I noticed because I entered my cell number in her phone, 
• ...and both of our husbands didn't make the move with us. Hers is still in Korea.

Cool prism at the library.

Up to this point since our move, I was feeling sorry for myself in this bittersweet chapter of my life since my husband is still in the OC. I thought for sure I was the only one in this impossible situation. For sure I had the right to think it's unfair that I don't have help on a daily basis for all the tasks of a household with four young kids. And yes, I now I have a new appreciation for single moms.  

I'm now the one responsible for the daily activities of four kids. From making lunches, preparing food, cleaning, driving, and homework. It's a big list and I don't want to bore you with the job description of a mom whose husband is not able to make the move yet.

Sooo here's my new favorite word...bittersweet. To me it means that even if you're struggling, there's a good reason to be thankful for your situation. To me it means that even if you're unhappy and frustrated that there are too many unknowns in your life, there's a lesson learned somewhere. 

Over the years I've been both a leader and follower, both outgoing and introverted, and both dependent and independent. So this season of life, I'll need to take a personal inventory of my strengths and make lemonade out of lemons. No, it doesn't mean being strong enough to squeeze the lemons! It means...

"Where there is no struggle, there is no strength." ~Oprah Winfrey

no excuses

I don't believe in excuses. There are, of course, exceptions to the rule. But for the most part I don't except excuses from myself, or my kids.

I'll give you an example. Picture me typing this blog post in my car on a in front of a closed Starbucks (free wifi) at 10:26pm on a Monday night. Then jump to a caption, "...Six months earlier..."

Back about six months ago we made a commitment to do whatever it takes to move from Southern California to the SF Bay Area. We've wanted to for years now and we've been fooling ourselves because since it was such a daunting task...it was always a good idea but we'd never really commit. So recently, we committed.

And if you like lists, here how it played out.

Reasons to move:

• Spend more time with family.

Reasons not to move:

• No job in the Bay Area.
• Need to sell our house.
• Need to find a place to rent.
• Just started a business in Southern California.
• Kids LOVE their friends and their sports in South Orange County.
• I'll miss my friends. (Insert more whining here.)

As in anything, there are decisions to make and once you commit, you can't go back. Even if there are more negatives than positives? Even if you have to step out on faith? Even if it seems impossible? Especially if it seems impossible.

And do you think my kids got the same healthy dose of, "And I don't want to hear any complaining!!" You're right.

So, fast forward to tonight. It's the eve of the kids' first day of Middle School in a new school. We drove up to the Bay Area from the OC yesterday, spent four hours today at school registration filling out paperwork and taking school pictures, put down the first months rent at a new place, and went back to check the boards to see what homeroom number and teacher they have for their first day of school. Blah, blah, blah.

I've always thought that if you're a "reader" then you'll read no matter what's going on in your life because you love to read. If you are a "writer" then even when you are busy, you'd find time to write. And if you've made a commitment, no matter what it is, you honor your commitment.

Am I either a reader or writer? No. You can surely tell from this post. :)

But even if I'm sitting in my car using free wifi at a closed Starbucks at 10:54pm, I'm feeling happy and content because I followed through on my commitment. I didn't give up. And I didn't give in to any excuses.

accidental exercise

If you disguise fitness in the fun then it's, well, more fun! This is an inflatable structure at a Halloween block party. It was accidental exercise!

You put on a vest connected to the inflatable wall that has a bungee-type cord to recoil you back to the starting line. The goal is to SPRINT to put your marker farther than your competitors!

Who do you think won here?

hawaiian surfer girl story

“Howzit, brah!”

“Howzit!”

My husband overheard this exchange between two Hawaiian locals in a shopping center on our recent vacation. It was his first introduction to pidgin, the local lingo.

After experiencing pidgin, my haole (HOW-lay, meaning Caucasian, foreigner) husband has since tried many other pidgin-like phrases on me, most of them he made up himself. It’s quite funny to experience his variety of linguistic humor and/or imitation of different languages. Now, he texts me in pidgin even though it’s been at least two weeks since we’ve been back from our vacation.

This morning, he texts: “How’s it?”

Me: It’s spelled, “Howzit.”

Him: How u know?

Me: Looked it up on the internet. (Because everything you read on the internet is true, right?)

Back to our vacation…

Fresh off the plane in Honolulu on our way to the rented house in Kailua (which we shared with our family who arrived a few hours before us), we drove on the Likelike Highway, known as Route 63, pronounced LEE-keh-LEE-keh.

I practiced other street names on the way. I was trying to prepare myself so I wouldn’t look so haole. I was attempting, in vain, to boost my self-esteem by not displaying any blatant haole ignorance. Why? Because I’m Japanese. But I’m really a wannabe Hawaiian girl.

At the risk of digressing, I’ll share that I only remember a few pidgin phrases from my high school friends (yes, Todd, Craig, and Jodi). My favorite was “da kine” which can virtually mean anything. “The word you use when you don’t use the word,” is my favorite definition I found on the internet.

Back to our vacation…

“Humuhumunukunukuapuaa.” “King Kamehameha.” “Iolani Palace.” These words were the highlight of our conversation traveling one day from Kailua to the Ala Moana mall. It was our homeschool language arts lesson for the day, which included many other hard to pronounce street names.

A history lesson on King Kamehameha (kuh-MAY-uh-MAY-uh) and the Iolani Palace were the topics for Social Studies.

My haole (yes, Caucasian, white) husband and I taught homeschool math by explaining the time change on the flight over to Honolulu from the mainland.

The subject of science was the most memorable. The kids learned about two different types of sharks, let’s say, upfront and personal. The two older kids and haole husband paid good money for the thrill of stepping into freezing cold water in an 8’x8’ cage to view sharks. They saw Sandbar and Galapagos types.

We also toured Hanauma Bay’s historical museum before snorkeling. That’s where we learned that the unofficial Hawaiian state fish is the Humuhumunukunukuapuaa. (It's pronounced HOO-moo-HOO-moo-NOO-koo-NOO-koo-AH-poo-AH-ah; yes, it’s the name of the fish song in High School Musical.)

We satisfied the PE requirement through a few different activities. Sunlight and fresh breezes invited my son and me to run barefoot on the Kailua beach. The kids swam in the ocean. And the kids and haole husband surfed for the first time on Waikiki Beach. Yes, I was jealous. (Now vain and jealous.) Well, someone had to make sure the 2 and 4 year olds didn’t get swept out too far in the big ocean. But…I still got a nice tan.

And this is my wannabe Hawaiian surfer girl story.

But it wouldn’t be complete, however, without mentioning a few of the things I loved most. I loved sipping wine and hanging out with family on the lanai. I loved the North Shore coffee, cookies, and window shopping. I loved the long walks on the sandy beaches with my husband. I loved our shopping at the International Marketplace. I loved our family outing to the Outrigger to have appetizers with the tiki torches at Duke’s. And I loved the many memories that we captured and brought home to share.

But one very special trip was to get shave ice. It’s not everyday, when you live on the mainland, that you can experience it the way locals do. Cool and refreshing…. Make sure, however, that you don’t call it “shaved ice” or compare it to a snow cone, or you’ll be haole for sure.

*Since this is neither formal nor free of grammatical errors, I’ve omitted all okinas. That’s the backwards apostrophe that makes Hawaii into the more proper form, Hawai`i. 

grateful for my Japanese heritage

It is my desire to dive back into my Japanese heritage after long years of enjoying the melting pot of Southern California culture. My kids know only a few Japanese words related to food: gohan (cooked rice), sushi (you should know), and hashi (chopsticks). There are possibly a few more words but we don't exercise their tiny Japanese vocabulary often.

My husband and I and our four kids recently took a road trip to

Northern California to spend time with both of our families. We planned on going to the San Francisco Cherry Blossom Festival in San Francisco with my parents. To find parking, we had to brave the crowded and narrow streets to find a lot close enough with a walk to Japantown without having to take a breather. But since I managed to forget an important toddler necessity, we took a break at the local Safeway to buy diapers. And because I am married to the smartest guy on the planet, we enjoyed two warm lattes to help us battle the brisk city winds. Heavenly.

The sights and sounds of the festival brought back memories of my local cultural center's summer festivals that my sister and I participated in during our childhood. Back then, we danced in the traditional Japanese Obon, a custom to honor one's ancestors. I recall the dance practices, the kimono fittings, and how tight you had to tie the obi around your waist to carry all the noisemakers. My favorite things were the dainty Japanese fans and the sparkly silver and pink hair ornaments you were fortunate to wear if your mom remembered to bring them.

But here, in San Francisco, we followed the beating of the drums to the center stage to watch the talented Taiko performance. The ornate and artistic backdrop possessed certain beauty to the entire crowd of excited onlookers, from every walk of life. The style and flair of the exhibition was amazing, although the drums were a little too loud for our three year old. Yes, our adorable kids love the stage!

A few of us entered the Katana exhibition of the Japanese sword. Our eight and ten year old had many questions about the majestic swords. I was somewhat wary of them getting so close to exotic but deadly weapons, but it turned out to be a learning experience for them.

After splurging on some chicken and sushi, we ended our day with observing the karate demonstration. The best part of this entertainment were the kids that were up on stage enjoying the limelight. I thought our 8 year old son would plead to learn martial arts, but it was our 10 year old daughter that urged us to sign her up. 

Our trip to the Cherry Blossom Festival in San Francisco was a taste of Japanese culture that I had enjoyed growing up. Thank you mom and dad for raising me to be a American citizen, proud of our country. And thank you mom and dad for also giving me the opportunity to cherish the Japanese heritage to which I was born. Thank you mom and dad, I am grateful.

locks of love

There was only one time in my life that I had my hair cut shorter than shoulder length. In some strange way, I feel like I can be more mysterious behind my long hair. Naturally, I've loved my girls to have long hair, flowing, glistening, and shining in the Southern California sun. 

A short time ago we talked to our oldest daughter about trimming her long, soft tresses. I mentioned to her an article that I had seen about girls donating their hair to worthy causes. She liked the idea and over time decided to take the challenge.

I am proud of her! She had a few surprises along the way...she didn't like the initial haircut, but endured the awkward stages. I thought she was graceful the entire time. And she gave up something for the sake of others. Not easy for any 10 year old.

Months later, the short hair is only a brief memory. But it serves as a reminder of a small sacrifice. She complains when I try to fix her hair. "Mom, why do you make such a fuss about my hair? Can't I just do it like I want to??" Sigh. 

Go, beautiful daughter of mine...be free of mom's controlling hair issues...be free of mom wanting it to be perfect in every way! I'm just starting to understand that it's just right for her, without me getting in the way.

So here's a candid shot while we were on a field trip to the neighborhood dump. Isn't she confident? Radiant? Naturally beautiful? 

Up next...Do you know where your trash goes? Do you know where your recycled materials go? The trash site story is for another post, for another day. 

giggle and wiggle

I've been into videos lately - can you tell? I giggle every time I watch my son wiggle! I just learned how to post videos on you tube, blogger, and facebook. I know, finally! 

cheerios monster

I have a cookie monster eating cheerios in my kitchen. He's not blue or from Sesame Street but he's cute...

sweet valentine

Hope you had a terrific Valentine's Day! We sure did! Our kids made precious Valentines for us. Our 3 year old daughter decorated a card for me. She lovingly gave me this one...(ERSHP) and she said, "Here's your card, mommy!" How wonderful! I think it says mommy on it? 

We had a blast at the kids' homeschool Valentine's Day party yesterday. The mom who organized the party was so creative! She made a bingo game and had the girls decorate cookies and cupcakes, to name a few of the activities to keep the kids occupied. We were indoors because of the rain, but we made the best of it! I'm going to post some pictures on facebook so you can see the creative talents of all the kids who made tasty goodies!

You probably love music like I do. You'll have to check out Pandora for free internet radio. You'll love it! I'm listening to Pandora right now while I'm typing. You can set up your favorite songs to play with no commercials! Oh, just had a thought! And yes, it works! You can type in "Disney" and with just a click of a button you can set up Disney Channel songs that play with no interruptions! No bothersome commercials that sell the kids on stuff that they don't need but think they need because they heard it on the radio or saw it on TV. Thank you Pandora!

mommy intelligence

I have felt unintelligent before. I'm a stay-at-home mom of four and homeschool the two older ones. I put all my efforts into raising and teaching my kids, while saving some time and energy for my husband! Very little left for just me to do what I want to do. I mean, how much intelligence does it take to do a load of laundry or turn on the dishwasher or change a diaper?? If you have felt like this before, I have hope for you.

You need to read The Success Journey by John C. Maxwell. Books by him, in my opinion, aren't usually geared for the mom types. I used to think that they were mostly for the corporate business minded types. But lately I've been very glad to have them around. I was cleaning the living room (miracle!) and came across The Success Journey. He has a section on "Steps to Building a Strong Family." In this section, he states that there are certain tools for us to help us appreciate each family member's uniqueness and to enhance our ability to see each other's natural talents. One of the tools is Thomas Armstrong's book, Kinds of Smart.

There are seven kinds of intelligences in Kinds of Smart. Now, I do not have linguistic intelligence, logical-mathematical intelligence, spatial intelligence, or the few others that are mentioned. My husband is blessed with those! But what did catch my eye is the Interpersonal Intelligence. It is described as understanding and working with people. Armstrong says, "Those who have this intelligence are able to perceive and be responsive to the moods, temperaments, intentions, and desires of others."

I HAVE INTELLIGENCE!!! I know when my friends need someone to talk to. I know when my kids need a pep talk. I know when my three year old needs a spanking. (Ok, not rocket science.) I know when my husband needs me to be his sounding board for his ideas and thoughts. I am no longer just the housewife...I am MOM and I am INTELLIGENT! 

the gift that will keep on giving

My husband and I decided that our gift to each other would be a gift that will keep on giving. We decided that we were going to join the thousands of wannabe photographers and get a digital SLR camera. 

We have been taking inside shots of the kids at Christmas...opening gifts, making gingerbread houses, and playing monopoly and jenga. All good events to photograph, but you do not really need the nice Nikon camera to do it. 

Well today, we took outside pictures of the kids practicing basketball and some at the park. It was fun holding down the shutter release button and taking 3.5 frames per second. Nice. We got some action shots of the kids doing lay ups. It reminds me of those books that you flipped lots of pages quickly and it looked like the images on the pages were moving! What were those called?

I would post some of those pictures of the big kids playing ball...but it would be a lot of pictures to get that same desired effect. Not so appropriate for a blog post. But I'll share some cute pictures of the little ones playing in the sand, on the swings, and going down the slide. Typical December day in Southern California...clear and sunny.

Happy New Year! Thank you for coming back to my blog and may your year be the best ever!

gingerbread house

The gingerbread kit that we bought certainly made this year's family Christmas tradition easier. Instead of baking the gingerbread ourselves, we tore open the box and out popped all the ingredients to build a spectacular house. As it turned out, our house did not end up looking like the pictures on the box. No surprise there. But it was fun watching our two daughters decorate the house with pretty colors. My sister had a good time making some double doors and putting the final touches on one side of the roof. Our youngest son, however, didn't like not being able to eat the colorful candy so my parents helped divert his attention to another part of the house. 

I'm still trying to figure out how to get our four children to look joyful in a picture...all together. We take quite a few just to get one, you know how that is. But this one is just too cute not to share. I don't know what our youngest is doing, but he's not interested in looking at the camera.

thankful for my family

There is a story about blueberries on my daughter's unit test for homeschool. It has been said that American Indians picked blueberries and turned it into tea, dried them in made it into a powder, and drank the juice to cure sickness and prepare the people for the long winters. It is possible that blueberries were on the menu at the First Thanksgiving.

My daughter learned that the blueberries were mixed with cornmeal and water to make blueberry mush. There was even a recipe for mush on the test...and she suggested that we try a little mush of our own this Thanksgiving feast. My DH and DD made it for breakfast and it was a yummy treat! Thank you, my little chef!

Thank you for coming to our site! Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

what we did this summer

In addition to many mainstream activities during the summer, we caught a lizard. We saved her (he?) from the wrath of our dog, who was about to pounce on her and play with her. We only kept it for a day and let it go, but it was fun to peer down on her. There are interesting things that you can see, find, catch, and investigate right in your backyard. 

We tried to find out what it eats. After much research (very educational), we determined that we would not want to keep it as a pet. Well, I guess I determined that. 

The kids named her Lizzie. When we let her go, she hung out for a while, just starting at us. The kids thought she was saying thank you for rescuing her from the dog. Maybe so. Even if you don't like lizards, she is kinda cute, don't ya think?

family fun at the pumpkin patch

You can't take a bad picture of your kids at a pumpkin patch! Dare ya. Take some, throw out the blurry ones, and enjoy!

We had a blast at the Irvine Park Railroad Pumpkin Patch! Train rides, hay rides, bounce house, and more! Bring your camera!