Done!

We started work on the play set on Saturday, June 14 and finished it on Wednesday, June 18. Kong and I did the majority of the project together and we really enjoyed it. I'm really proud of him as his strengths do not include putting things together and/or fixing "stuff".














Between then and now lots has happened.

So on June 20th I turned the big 35. In all my years I have never dreaded or dislike an age but turning 35 was very significant for some reason. I was not looking forward to it. Maybe it's knowing that I've nearly lived half my life or that in five more years I'll be 40. Maybe it's knowing that death is inevitable and approaching slowing but surely. Whatever the case I feel a sense of urgency to enjoy life, change my bad habits and appreciate all that I've been blessed with.

Kong surprised me with a date on my birthday. This is a rarity for us as we have a very difficult time leaving our children with other people. Since we try to spend quality time with each other everyday I guess we never have the need to go out on dates. Anyway, Kong took me out to dinner and a movie. When we arrived at the movie theatre they changed the time of the movie so we ran errands instead. We still had a great time. Ayden's response to us going out on a date was, "I'm coming too, right?"

The day after my birthday Taylor tested for her blue stripe and I tested for my yellow belt. It was a small testing group so PSBN Steffen found a way to make testing excruciating even without small children invoking hundreds of push ups. I felt that this test really pushed me to the limit. Since Taylor was testing for a higher level belt she had to test longer. Watching her push along made me question if I had it in me to keep progressing to higher level belts. I was so proud of her. She even broke a real board. We both received our next belt level. I was also invited into Black Belt club. Yeah!

This past weekend was our 11 year anniversary. It's hard to believe that we've been together for 14 years. It seems like just yesterday we were playing pool at the Memorial Union at UW Madison. We've tried to plan anniversary trips in the past but they've never panned out so we decided not to plan anything this year. We spent the weekend visiting Kong's brother Cheng and his family. Cheng and Stacy made great food and took care of us. The kids played and had a great time. We couldn't ask for a better way to spend our anniversary.

That's it for now. More to come in the next few days as my Mom and Dad are home from their Laos Mission. We'll be having a celebration for his commision as a Probationary Elder in the United Methodist Church and completion of his Masters of Divinity.

First Swimming Lesson

We attended our first swimming lesson yesterday evening. I was the only adult in a class of about 14 kids. You know you are getting old when everyone looks young. The instructor looked like a teenage kid but I'm sure he was probably in college and home for the summer working for some extra cash : )

Taylor was bumped up to my class so we are taking lessons together. Yeah! The instructor said that he thinks I'm a better swimmer than I think I am but it's my fear of deep water that I need to over come. He made us all do bobs in water over our head to help with this. I have to admit I was nervous about this but I did it.

After the lesson we were so tired that we zonked out after we washed up. We'll have to see if we are all better swimmers after the 10 weeks. Keep your fingers crossed!

Father's Day Weekend

Father's Day weekend was very busy for us. We started Saturday with a church picnic then sprinted off to the Super Seminar. It was quite awesome to see our Grand Master in person. It was such an honor to meet Kuk Sa Nim and receive instructions and lessons from him and the team from TX.
I had never been to a Super Seminar before so I did not know what to expect. The training was rigorous and about an hour into the seminar junior martial artist were crying and adults were exhausted. I think many of us were just overwhelmed by the intensity and pace of the training. Exhaustion aside, it was an amazing experience to meet a living legend. I also learned why my right knee is in such pain. I'm not suppose to snap my leg when I do the round house kick. Who knew. I thought I was just getting old.

Kong's been busy building a play fort and swing set for the girls so he didn't get to sleep in on Father's Day. We did however have a fun packed day waiting for him. We bought him three much needed books: The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success (which is really awesome plus it's an easy read), Don't Sweat the Small Stuff and Why a Daughter Needs a Dad. Kong and I spent most of Father's day working on the play set.
This is the tower piece of the play set. Hopefully we'll have it all put together by this week.

Saturday afternoon we headed out to the Excel Center to see Walking with the Dinosuars. We had suite tickets so it was an amazing view of the show. If you get a chance to see it you should. The creatures where huge and magnificient. Taylor loved the historic replay of events. Though Ayden also enjoyed the show she was distracted by the soda, mini donuts and popcorn.

Here is a link if you want to catch a clip of the show => http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2008/06/12/_walking_dinos/?rsssource=1
We tried to go to Kong's favorite restaurant afterwards but the place was booked (They don't take reservations) so we ended up eating at Burger King for dinner. All in all we had a great time together.
This is a picture from Saturday night. After a long day of building the playset Kong thought it would be appropriate to give Kal-el a beer for all his hard work.

Note: This picture is not distorted. Kal-el's head is that much bigger than his body. This picture does him no justice. He's cute in this picture but not nearly as cute as he is in real life. He's an extremely happy baby too! To bad he's not mine : (

Year of Doing Thing's I've Always Wanted...

So as I said earlier this year, 2008 is the year I'm going to do things I've always wanted to but just never got around to doing it. I started martial arts (Kuk Sool Won) in February, which by the way I will be testing for my yellow belt next Saturday, and starting next week Taylor, Ayden and I will start swimming at the Oxford pool in the Jimmy Lee Recreation Center.

Sad to say I do not know how to swim. I have a huge fear of deep water. I've been thinking about taking lessons for a really long time but after Kong's boating accident last Sunday it just pushed the issue home. Though Taylor is a good swimmer I thought it was important to also put her into an intermediate class as she could use some help with techniques and strength building. Swimming is the one thing you can not be over confident about. Not to sound morbid but I am keenly aware that if you make mistakes or over assess your abilities the end result could be death. I think people forget the real dangers that come with swimming.

Speaking of the Jimmy Lee Rec Center, they renovated the whole building and added a new gym and water play area. We signed up for a summer membership and tried the pool out last night. The girls really enjoyed themselves. Next up, joining a writers group so that I can write a screen play.

Me...caretaker?

I was working in the front yard on Sunday (June 1) and there was a lot of people traffice because of the Grand Old Days celebration on Grand Avenue. Since spring has been slow to come in MN I did not begin planting and yard work until this busy Sunday.

After a long day of sitting in the sun, planting flowers in pots, moving my perennials, planting new perennials, weeding...you get the idea; I looked tired, dirty and dark (yes, I get really dark being out one day in the sun - not sure if it's a curse or a gift). I was finishing off my work watering all the new plants near the front of my yard.

A middle aged couple stopped in front of my house to admire a blooming bush. The husband walked up my front steps, walked through my landscaping and sniffed my flowers. Though this act on its own seems harmless I need to add that I was standing not more than a few feet from this man who completely ignored me and acted as if he had all the right in the world to do as he pleased in my yard without a gesture of acknowledgement. I later learned why.

After a few lingering sniffs by my neighbor I politely interrupted and said, "Hello". Without looking at me or making eye contact he asked me the name of the plant. This is how the rest of the conversation went. K is me and NM is Neighbor Man and NW Neighbor Woman.

K: I'm not sure what it's called. It's been here long before me.

NW: Did you take care of the property when the house burned down also?

K: I'm not sure who took care of the house then. I've only lived here for two years. I am the third owner of this house since the fire.

NW: Oh...how do you like living here?

K: Well, I like it just fine. The house is beautiful and I love it.

NM: Another neighbor has a blooming bush just like this and the flowers are magnificent. You don't know the name?

K: Sorry. I don't.

NM & NW: Oh well. Have a good day.

K: Thanks. You too.

Innocent enough, right? After the conversation something just didn't feel right. The conversation was a bit odd when factoring in the tone of the couple, their body language and their choice of words. It finally dawned on me that these people thought I was the help and not the owner of the home.

For those who are not familiar with St. Paul, we live in an affluent, old and quaint area of town. We are one street removed from the mansions on Summit Avenue. That being said I guess when certain people see a person of color working on a yard I guess they automatically assume they are the help, not the property owner. I'm sure these people are very nice and well meaning but this incident served as a reminder that though we've come a long way as a country as it relates to race, we need to go much further to dispel the stereotypes and myths that have been ingrained in all of us.

Think about it. If these people are in careers where they are in hiring roles how do you think they view a person of color interviewing for a job? Are people conscious enough to check their biases and stereotypes at the door so that it doesn't influence their hiring decision? Is everyone given a fair shot for the same job? Seeing that most people do not believe they are racist or have racial biases you tell me...

Baby Rat-bits

Earlier this week we discovered a rabbit's nest with seven bunnies in it. It has been great fun for Kong and the girls to catch and "play" with the bunnies. I reminded Kong the last time he caught baby rabbits what happened to them.

For those who don't know the story, when we lived in IL, a rabbit made a nest right under the girls swing set. I came home late from work one day to find that Kong and the girls had caught the baby rabbits and brought them into the house. I pulled Kong aside to ask him his intentions and he said that they were just going to keep the rabbits for a few hours then put them back. I wasn't sure if my rabbit knowledge was correct but I thought that if the babies had human scent on them the mother would either kill or abandon them. Kong was very confident this was an old wives tale.

After discovering that the baby rabbits had fleas Kong and the girls reluctantly put them back. A few days later the girls were playing outside and Taylor discovered that the baby rabbits were all "asleep" under the big pine by our house. The truth was the babies had been killed by their mother but I didn't have the heart to tell them. They were all mangled and bitten. To this day they don't know the truth.

So anyway, this time they all did their best not to touch the babies so they used a fishing net and branches to corral the babies into a box. I know they are cute but I can't get over the fact that they are not all that different than rats. Yish! I guess I might have made mention of that one too many times (see video clip).

I was very adamant that they not touch the rabbits because 1) they are probably filthy and flea infested but more importantly, 2) since we do not have any shrubs or pines in our current yard I did not want to see baby rabbit parts spread throughout the yard. To prevent this scenario Kong and the girls came up with the brilliant idea of putting the fishing net over the nest so that the mommy rabbit could not come back to do harm to her babies. It worked. By the end of the week they all got bigger and ran away. There is only one left. Thank goodness!

A new post - Finally!

FYI: Disney pictures down below if you want to skip the update.

Goodness how time flies. It's been nearly two months since the last post. Life has been busy and work demanding making it tough to do everything I intend to.

I have been feeling a great sense of guilt. I have not been volunteering as much at the girls school nor have I been making time just to hang out with them. Now that they are bigger, I find myself reverting back to my old self. Instead of playing with them when I have a spare moment, I find myself cleaning or tidying things up. I realize that this is really the time I should be spending more alone time with each child separately. I find the girls are more open and cuddly when they don't have to compete for my attention. This is on my list of "things to be more conscious of and to do".

Taylor was just invited to join Black Belt club. Her hard work and dedication earned her a special invitation to particpate. This means that she will be taught weapons along with have the ability to get more 1:1 time instruction. This also means she can attend the adult class as she has the ability and maturity to do so. I am so proud of her. She loves Kuk Sool and could spend everyday there if she could. Black Belt club meets for two hours extra on Saturday's so I'll use this special time to spend and focus solely on Ayden.

I did make it to school to have lunch with each child last week. It was a surprise so they didn't know I was coming. I know in a few years they will very likely be upset that their mom is showing up at school to have lunch with them. For now I'll cherish these moments, their smiles and their excitement to see and spend time with me.

Kong and the girls made me a special Mother's Day breakfast. My gift was planted flowers in hand painted pots. I was very surprised. They made me pancakes and wrote, "We Love Mom" with chocolate chips in the pancakes. We also had turkey bacon (Yum!!!) It was very sweet. Here is a picture of me and the girls. We all look pretty mangy but it's because we were not properly groomed yet.
This is a clip of the girls singing a special earth song for me on Mother's Day. Ahhhh, I'm like mother earth, old and abused. Just kidding! I can't complain. I have amazing children and a caring husband.

Last weekend we had to take Ayden to the ER. I was making dinner because Kong's brother Meng and his family were coming over. While I was cooking, Kong asked Ayden to pick out a few books so that they could read together. As they started to read, I heard Ayden breathing very heavily. Of course her dad who was sitting right next to her completely missed that his child couldn't get enough air. I asked Ayden why she was breathing so oddly and she said very nonchalantly, "There is something stuck in my throat and I am having difficulty breathing."

Her breathing became more labored so I called the doctor and they told me to take her to the ER. Let me tell you that I was definitely freaking out. My greatest fear in life is losing one of my girls so I'm trying my best not to show that I'm scared to death. I asked Ayden if she put anything in her mouth, if she ate anything, if she sniffed anything unusual, to which she answered no.

Thank goodness the Children's hospital is very close to our house. As we drove down the hill of Summit Avenue, I asked if anything flew into her mouth on its own. My stinky proceeds to tell me that after Daddy asked her to pick out three books, she sat on the living room rug to look through the books. As she was sitting she saw a dust bunny flying in the air. It did two loops, to which she corrected and said it did five loops, then she watched it go into her mouth. We have wood floors on the first floor and in the living room there is a wool rug. Needless to say with the combination of wool and wood you will have dust bunnies whether you want to or not.

Though I was hesitant to believe Ayden's story, I was hoping it was true because a dust bunny is far less scary than an allergic reaction that closes air ways. By this point, her breathing was getting worse so I decided to have the ER doctors take a look and make their own evaluation. After two hours in the ER, much coloring and playing with princess dolls, we were given the clear to go home. Ayden enjoyed her ER trip so much that she asked if she could keep the hospital gown. For her it was a fun evening of dress up and coloring. For us, it was sheer terror. As we left the ER Kong asked me, "Do we still have to pay the $100 copay since it wasn't really an emergency?" I'm sure you all know the answer.

Last week Taylor got into a confrontation with a boy in her class. Taylor and a friend were talking about fairies and a boy classmate decided to join the conversation by telling them fairies are not real. Taylor was very upset by this and proceeded to debate with him and provide "facts" to support fairy existence. I was so torn about this situation. Taylor was tearing up when she told me about this incident. Anyone who knows anything about fairies knows that each time a person express their disbelief of fairies a fairy dies. She truly believe that on this day this boy killed at least 1,000 fairies.

So am I a horrible mom for letting my child continue to believe in magic and fairies? It's getting harder and harder to explain away why other children don't believe. It's amazing to me how critical and pessimistic children are at such a young age. I'm lucky that my Taylor is not like that. Taylor is one of those kids who is so smart that she's actually a little dorky. Considering that she has read more books in her 8 years than I've have my entire life she sometimes knows more than she really should. I feel like as an adult, I think there is still a part of me that does believe in magic, unicorns, fairies and mermaids. I still believe that just because I can't see, touch or feel something doesn't mean it isn't there. Isn't this the foundation for hope? The ability to come up with new ideas and solutions is built on creativity and imagination. Am I completely off on this?

I saw the pain my child was feeling and I let her come to the conclusion that as long as she believed in fairies and she continued to laugh (which again, if you know anything about fairies, every time you laugh a fairy is born), that fairies would never become extinct. She has decided that the fate of all fairies lies in her hands and that she must past this fairy knowledge on to her children and their children and so on. As long as someone believes, they will always be. So like the sad mom that I am, I did not dispute this conclusion.

Kong will start teaching an Intro to Finance class at Metro State University in the fall. He's excited about being an adjunct professor. I'm really proud of him as he has been talking about it for years. He was made to go into acadamia. This experience will provide him greater insight on whether he wants to go get a PhD in Finance and teach or stay in the corporte sector. He'll continue to work at Allianz in addition to serve on the board of St. Paul Kids Voting.

I'm not sure how many other people's children have found interest in the Democratic primary but my kids have. At the beginning of the race both girls told me they support Hillary Clinton because they want a female President. Trying to be a good mom I did not try to persuade them even though Obama is the far superior candidate. Two days ago Kong and I were watching CNN and Obama's picture was up on screen. Ayden pointed to the picture and said, "That's Barack Obama. I've decided that I'm going to change my vote from Hillary Clinton to Barack Obama." I want to say that the political conversations we have with our girls are never initiated by us. They actually are truly interested in this primary and feel that their voice makes a difference. I don't think at 4 and 8 I ever put thought into politics. I don't think at 4 I knew who the President was.

Lastly, the long awaited Disney update. Yes, we went to Disney. We wanted to go before it was no longer magical for the girls. It was extremely stressful as we were first timers. Though it was not magical for us, the girls had a great time. I shutter to think of how much more fun it would have been for them if we were better parents. We suck! Surprisingly we spent less than we expected which didn't suck.
At the MSP airport waiting for our flight to Disney!!!!!
We made it!!!! Kong, Taylor and Ayden in front of Cinderella's castle. It looks like we are the only people here but looks are deceiving. If only we were : )
It was really warm our first day at Disney. It was a relief to be on an indoor ride. It's a Small World was the second ride we went on. We were limited on rides we could go on as a family. Ayden was either too small or the ride was too scary for her. You can see by Taylor's face that she's already tired and it's only our first day. I think it was the sun!
The parades were over the top-Lights and Fireworks! We also got to see a street parade re-enactment of High School Musical 2 which they loved, loved, loved.
The Animal Kingdon ROCKED! Best park of all.
The tree of life was amazing. Inside the tree is a 3d Bugs Life show. We had no idea what to expect. It was a phenominal show. Very real. So real that Ayden was scared. She cried and was very upset we brought her to something so scary.
My cuties. They wanted to hang out in this spot because there were ducks swimming around. Taylor believes that she can communicate with animals. We sat here for 20 mintues while the girls "communicated" with the ducks. We traveled all the way to Disney and they wanted to spend time seeing ducks. Go figure.

On the Safari ride we saw some really great creatures. Though I am not a fan of animals in captivity it was a nice experience. We saw animials that no longer exist in the wild. Very sad.

These gators were enjoying the FL sun.

We saw a mommy elephant with her baby who was born not long before we got to Disney. The girls got a kick out of seeing the baby because just as we drove by he took a big dookie. Good times.

Kong and Taylor went on this yeti ride. Not sure if that's what it's really called but they loved it. Taylor is fearless and went on every scary ride possible.

Next up, Epcot.
This was more fun than any ride for Ayden. Seeing that we had rushed them around all of the parks we thought it would be nice just to relax and play. Needless to say they were soaked and tired on the bus ride home. Like all the children, they zonked out on the ride back to the hotel each night.
At Epcot we had dinner at a restaurant in Moroco. The food was amazing but the service was not so great. Taylor and Ayden were mezmorized by the belly dancer. We bought Ayden a Morocan outfit which is very likely too fancy to ever wear anywhere and Taylor chose a belly dancing belt with coins hanging from it. It was not all that diffferent from the Hmong coin belts.
Epcot had a lot of green scupltures. In Japan we watched the Taiko (not sure if that's how it's spelled) drummers and made the rounds to the other parts of the Epcot world. We didn't let the rain stop us. We had lunch in Germany and stopped off in China to see Chinese acrobats and a unique 360 film.
Got to meet Mulan and Mushu in China. I was in this photo but cropped myself out. With the rain and humidity I thought I would spare you from having to see my hair. Mulan was very sweet and was very nice to the girls.

Face Painting at Hollywood Studios. Of course Ayden chose a princess theme and Taylor a cross between a mermaid and fairy.




We saw shows which included Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Nimo. The shows were very well done. Poor daddy...had to watch and do all of the girlie stuff. Kong was a great sport.













Princess Make overs at Cinderella's castle. The boutique was beyond imaginable. The girls were pampered like true Princesses. I don't think I have ever been treated this well at a salon. This was the girls favorite part of the trip. Up until this point they just wanted to stay at the hotel and swim.
Through out this process the girls never saw themselves in the mirror. This photo is the moment Ayden saw herself made up.












Their expressions were priceless and worth every penny.
Off to the Princess and Pirate Party. The girls met Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella. Ayden loved being made over so much that she came home the next day in full make over. Everyone at the airport and in the plane just ate her up. Since our return from Disney, she wears her costume nearly everyday (after school of course) and every where she can. She went in full costume to Penela's birthday and Pakou's baby shower - cape, glass slippers and all!