Category: Family

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JJ & ER

Yikes!  What a day!

So we are at church.  I’m setting up the computer and others for service, and Soojin’s doing her usual greeting preparations… suddenly JJ comes running crying!  And what do I see?!!  A huuuuge gash on his right rear forehead!!   😮

The gash was about 1/4″ deep and half inch or so long!  I’m not that worried ’cause it looked like a bad scar but nothing serious.  Soojin takes a look and she is freaking out to the nth degree!!

Eventually, we decide to wait for Sanghee Samonim to get here (she’s a RN) and get her opinion who says at her arrival that JJ needs to get to ER.  So Soojin and Sanghee leave for Texas Children’s Hospital.

Eventually, the doctors decide to pull the skins together to apply… some kind of crazy glue!  😮  Yikes… I never knew that there’s an alternative to the old fashioned stitches!  Anyhow, Soojin later told me how well JJ was at the ER.  He didn’t cry one bit!  Even the nurses and the doctor were surprised!  He made me so proud.

Kids play and get hurt.  I’m just glad and thankful that it wasn’t worse.  Boys though do play rougher and are more prone to such larger damage.  Oh well.  C’est la vie!

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How do you work so late??!

For the personal record, I had to work 10.5 hours today! 😮 For some, it’s not that unusual. But see, for me, that’s very very very rare. How rare? Very rare. Like my steak, it’s rare. 😛 Why? Even from my high school years, I decided that I would not be a workaholic and not spend most of my time at work, and lose the time with the precious family.

So for the past 9+ years of working, I have avoided jobs that require too long of hours, too much effort, and responsibility. Don’t misunderstand me. I do my job and give it my best. But I deliberately didn’t want to (and still don’t) be a manager. Way too much politics aside, management not only requires much time and effort, but also much ass-kissing. Yeah, you read that right here. 😛

However, raising kids is expensive. 🙁 So one needs to make more money. Cars are not functioning well either. So one tries to get a better paying job (trust me, rocket scientists definitely don’t get paid). But seeing how I got home close to 8 pm, I barely had an hour with the kids. My cousin used to put in 100+ hours a week and slept at work! 😮 How does one put in so much?! Is it worth all that money?

My kids are already 3 and 5. Anna goes to Kindergarten this fall. JJ is so cute and so energetic. Time flies too quickly. I swore to myself that I would not be a workaholic or too focused on money. I still remember when JJ was a baby… that moment passed so fast!

I don’t want to miss my kids’ growing up. It’s been hard and busy at work. But I can’t see myself working this late for the most of my life! Even four to five hours a day with my family isn’t enough! But one?! Shiiiiiiteeee! I think I will just keep on driving my jalopy and and keep on living in our apartment. 😀 (Please no comments about how it’s a waste of money and should invest in a house. That’s another post!)

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Anna’s pictures of la Familia

Anna has been loving to draw and color!  Takes after her mom, I think because I hate drawing!  😛  Anyhow, here are the depictions of us from her hands and eyes!  😀

And she kept insisting that she wouldn’t draw herself as the pic on the left would take her place!  However, given time, she eventually drew herself…  😀

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Pirate Kids & Comedians

Now you all know that my son is a “pusher sleeper”. What does that mean? It means that he pushes you while he sleeps … and eventually into a corner! Here’s the proof that my wife took while we were sleeping.

Now onto funnier things. Our local Harris county library, Freeman, has “Family Night” on Thursday evenings. After usual book readings, they usually do some kind of arts and crafts. That night’s theme was pirates so we made pirate hats. Here’s the proof that my kids are pirates! 😛

And to finish it off, here’s JJ with TWO cherry tomatoes in his mouth!! 😀 He’s a character alright. A funny one indeed.

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JJ’s “interesting” habits

We all have strange habits.  I bite my lip skin off when they start to chap.    Anna loves her “touching blanket”.   She loves to sleep ON it.  She likes to feel all that oddity popping out on the top of the blanket.  Soojin likes to take the scabs off her heel. 

My son is no exception.  Most of know of his sleeping habit … of having to touch our rings on our fingers when he is sleepy or is about to sleep.  It’s kinda cute… until your fingers start hurting.  Still cute.  Well, I noticed another strange habit of his today.  Quite strange but cute.  On our way to the Bible study at Formosan Church, to keep them awake (so they can sleep on the way back and not be wide awake!), I let them watch their favorite cartoon shows (mainly cycle between Dora, Diego, Thomas the Tank Engine, and the Backyardigans.  Well, he must’ve been extra tired because he still fell asleep watching his favorite Thomas.  Then I noticed it.  I didn’t see any of his hands!    Almost worried, I searched a bit only to realize that he put his hands behind his back!  Odd, I thought.

Well, today as he sleeps at home, I noticed that he puts his hands underneath him as he slept.  Oddly, Soojin had to move him and as soon as she lay him down, he slid his hands under the pillow!  I guess he likes to keep his hands warm.  Cute kid.  Great moment.  He’s something. 

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Jon & Kate Plus 8

A friend of mine, Roland, shot me an e-mail about this show he watched on TV. It’s entitled “Jon & Kate Plus 8” on Discovery Health and TLC. You see, it’s a show about this couple and, get this, EIGHT (8) kids!! 😮

According my friend, the dad is half Korean (not that that should change anything about this couple’s daily challenging lives). Paul M., if you are reading this, that should make you look! 😀 They have 2 twins that are 6 years old and 6 sextuplets that are 2 years old! Wow. Their website is at Gosselin Sextuplets & Twins.  So these 8 kids are 1/4 Korean by blood but many of them have that distinct Korean genes in them.  I was rather shocked ’cause by the time it goes into 2nd generation, ethnic blood/genes don’t show very well.  They sure are adorable though.  🙂  Makes me wish we had more kids… but not that many!  LOL.  I have some friends that are of mixed racial marriages and it seems like a 50/50 ratio (more or less) how the genes carry through.

If you guys have some recordings of it, let me know. I’m curious to see their daily lives! The sheer madness is gotta be maddening! I sure hope they have more help!

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A boy and a girl: The difference

So the two of us, Soojin and I, are not too favorable on “conditional raising” of our kids.  That is, I don’t believe in giving the boys just “boy toys” and “girl toys” for girls.  Well, much to my surprise, as I try to play with my kids that are fighting some kind of fever, I find JJ playing with cars on a rug that has roads drawn on, and Anna playing with dolls and stuffed toys putting hair clips and and hair bands on them!  😀

All this without us giving either of them any special treatment or conditioning!  It’s just another proof that God has made us unique and special.  On top of that, our kids have been fairly superb being sick and all.  Even amidst sickness, they were so playful and affectionate… especially towards their mom.  🙂  Mommies are the best when you are sick.  Hands down.  I don’t blame them at all for going to their mom so affectionately when they are sick.