To the ones that I love,

I can easily come up with excuses about how busy life has been and how little free time I have had, but nothing excuses me for losing sight of the most important things in my life; the ones that I love. You are the ones who have been there for me to make me laugh when I was sad, to lift me up when I fell down, and to stand by me when no one else would. To love me unconditionally and that is all one man can ever ask for.

Starting a family, managing a household, and dealing with tight work schedules are all part of everyone’s life. We stand on stage running from scene to scene trying not to forget our lines and making sure we hit our cues, but we often neglect the people backstage who support us. Behind the scenes, our loved ones have always made sure the play went on and all too often, they never see the applauds they so deserved.

I don’t know all the lessons my children will learn in life, but I hope the one lesson that they will keep close to their heart is that one should never take their loved ones for granted. Your loved ones will be the light that guides you through the darkest times and the blanket that keeps you warm through the coldest nights. Always appreciate the great gift that you have been given no matter what else happens around you because they will always be there for you.

On this Valentine’s Day,
A person who has lost track of his priorities

Let me start off with: I love Pinterest. I got this idea from Pinterest and knew I had to make them for the kids to give out on Valentine’s day. The Montessori they go to have a very strict sugar rule…as in, no sugar on school property. I found these to be perfect and decided to make them for the kids.

I also played around with colors to make a “boy version” for Aidan: Continue reading →

We were driving home last night from Target after buying a bunch of stuff to make cookies. They asked for some toys in which I said no to. On the drive home, they remembered the toys and asked me where it was. This was our conversation:

Brooke: “Mommy, I forgot my flower and Caucau forgot his yo-yo.”
Me: “No, we didn’t forget it. I didn’t buy it.”
Aidan: “Why?”
Me: “Because I don’t have money.”
Aidan: “Mommy has no money?”
(I’m about to answer when Brooke jumps in.)
Brooke: “No, Caucau. Daddy has money. Mommy and Caucau and Meimei has no money.”
Aidan: “Yes, Daddy has money. Mommy has no money. Ask Daddy?”
…

Boy does the truth hurts! LOL

Last night before bed, Aidan pointed at the Oscar the Grouch decal on his bathroom door he’s had since he was 1 year old. He says, “That guy scary, Mommy.” I turn around and asked, “Oscar? You’re scared of Oscar?”
Aidan says, “Yea.” So I stood up and just took him off the door. Aidan sees this and sweetly said, “Thank you, Mommy!” Confused I asked him, “Caucau, how can you be afraid of Oscar but not Darth Vader? Are you afraid of Darth Vader?” Aidan quickly says, “No.” So I continued with, “Why not?” Aidan very matter-of-factly stated, “Because he’s my friend.” I didn’t say anything. Who am I to argue true friendship, right?

I got lazy this time since I wanted to make cupcakes AND cake pops and opted not to make the hello kitty edible. I picked up a dozen cupcake rings from Amazon but the results are still pretty cute so I thought I’d share.

I picked up Brooke from school yesterday and took her with me to Stonefire Grille to pick up dinner for the family. She sees Target and as we get out of the car, this is our conversation:

Brooke: “Mommy, we go to Target after pick up food, okay?”
Me: “Why?”
Brooke: “I need to buy present for my cousin Riley.”
Me: “You do?”
Brooke: “Yes, and for Nathan.”
Me: “Nathan too? What are you going to give them?”
Brooke: “Um, Hello Kitty.”
Me: “I don’t think Nathan likes Hello Kitty, honey.”
Brooke: “I like Hello Kitty. Can I have it, please???”
Me: “Wait? What happened to the presents?”
Brooke: “I like presents”
Me: …..

Oh, how quickly the tides turned. LOL.

Aidan has reached an age that if it doesn’t taste good, he was not going to eat it. Of course, this also extends to medicine.

Aidan had been sick the last few days and was prescribed antibiotics that supposedly tastes like cherries, but for some reason, he preferred to avoid it like The Plague. Thi tried giving him his first dose last night and Aidan fought it with all his might. Needless to say, after the dust settled, most of the medicine either ended up on the floor or on Thi.

This morning, it was my turn to give Aidan his medicine and I was determined to “persuade” him to “want” to take the medicine. I figured, Aidan is an intelligent and rationale kid. He should be able comprehend why he needed to take the medicine, right?

Attempt #1: “The discussion”
I sat down with Aidan and discussed why he needed the medicine. I asked him if he was uncomfortable and if he wanted to “fix” it. He looked me in the eye and sincerely said “yes”. I told him using a big happy face that the medicine will help him “fix” the cough and it tasted like cherries. I was sure I was getting through to him, but right when I took out the medecine, he started screaming like a banshee. After some more “discussing”, I could see that I was not getting anywhere.

Attempt #2: “The disguise”
After the failed discussions, I next resorted to disguising the medicine. I figured that if I can mask the taste of the medicine, he wouldn’t know that he was taking it. He drinks a glass of milk in mornings so I decided to hide it in there. Well, right after he took his first gulp, he immediately stared straight at me with a look of disgust on his face and proceeded to spit out whatever milk was left in his mouth. I didn’t think his taste buds were so sensitive.

Attempt #3: “The negotiation”
Maybe what he needed was a little give-and-take. I knew he liked granola bars so I proceeded to use it as leverage and negotiate with him. I told him that could have one bite of the granola bar first before taking the medicine and I would give him the rest right after. Of course, being the trusting father, I believed him when he said OK. Well, after the first bite, needless to say he wanted a second. Seeing that the negotiations were going nowhere, I decided it was time to move on.

Attempt #4: “The bribe”
Running out of options, I resorted to the one thing I really dislike to do, straight bribery. I really dislike bribing the kids, but I thought that if he gets what he wanted, I would get what I wanted. I proceeded to offer him the entire granola bar, some jello, fruits, and almost anything else relatively healthy that he loves, but to avail. This kid was not going to budge.

Attempt #5: “The hard way”
Everything else had failed. I was out of options, but I needed to get him to take his medicine. I had no other choice but to hold him down and try to navigate the spoon into his mouth. Not surprising, it was much harder than I had anticipated even with me holding him down. He screamed at the top of his lungs and bucked liked bronco. Right then though, I saw my chance. He had opened his mouth wide to prepare for his next scream and I quickly stuck the spoon into his mouth. Before he knew what was happening, he had swallowed the medicine. His face wrinkled up like a prune, but it was over. I gave him some water, the rest of his granola bar, and within minutes, he was back to normal. Success albeit having to employ some trickery and physical persuasion.

I learned at least one thing from this experience. No matter how rationale or intelligent we think our kids are, sometimes as parents, we just have to do it “the hard way” to get across to them.