Helping Hands

I strongly believe with or without disability should learn at least something do at a young age. I did learn to do the work at a very young age.

1. Cleaning and doing the yard work such as learning mow the lawn and trimmed the ivy (thanks goodness there was no garden snake), I had learned to save the money for the trip to Colorado River.

2. Washing our van and truck.

3. Cleaning all of doll hair that I left in the bathroom (age 6)

4) Cleaning the toilet paper up that I left it all over the bathroom (age 2)

Once I became a mom of two kids, I vowed myself that my children would learn to be responsible at young age. Frankly, I know they can be stubborned when they don't listen to my instruction even if it means they don't get allowance for the PEZ or Thomas collections. I guess I have to stay on the top of them !

Dylan has learned to clean up the mess from the table, floor and dressing himself. He especially often complained that he had to dry himself after taking a bath or a shower. The only he does not mind to help if he earns a small amount of allowance for his PEZ Collection.

One night, he had a high energy to help me out by preparing for dinner. Who knows he will be the next prominent chef? I personally think he got a hereditary from his dad, who loves to cook.

On the same day, Ryan saw me starting to wash both of our cars before we returned from a 3 day weekend. He wanted to learn to wash the Jeep. He really enjoyed washing especially having the water sprinkled all over his head. Seeing him giggling and continuing to help me for the afternoon had brighten my day.


I was impressed that he learned quickly to wash the car carefully ! Knowing that he loves to clean anything that has liquid, but soon enough I will need to be tougher when he needs to clean his toys up ! He loathes do whatever he was told.

In a long run, I hope teaching them at a young age will pay it off; even though, if they don't like being told. I currently am hoping to find a way to have them do it without earning any money even one cent ! If you have any better idea on how I can convince my sons to accept the responsibility, please advice me.

Egghead forehead

Last week, I received a message on my pager from Ryan 's school. It said, "Ryan injured his forehead after falling off from sliding down. He has a big egghead bump on his forehead. He is resting with an ice pack."

After corresponding with the staff, she stated that Ryan told the staff, "I feel better. I wanted to go play." They had insisted him to stay and rest his forehead. My husband David came to pick him while I was teaching an American Sign Language after school. He informed me that it reminded him when Dylan, at age 18 months old, ran toward to the McDonald's pole and got a real nasty bruise on his forehead.

Dylan on the left side of the picture

By the time I arrived home from teaching after school activities, David was right that he did have an egghead on his forehead just like Dylan when he was young. Ryan ran up to me telling me that " I fell down on the slide." Even he told almost everyone he knows at school about what happened on his forehead.

Who Has Been Tagged?

It is me who has been tagged by my sister in law, Deby. I have been tagged before, but not on blog. In the past, I have run away and broke the game rules. She left me a guilty trip if I had run away for not doing this game. But this time, I wanted to get it off my shoulder, and get some good night sleep!

Here are seven things you will learn more about me.

1) My youngest Aunt Lori and I are the only ones in the family can shake our eyeballs. I discovered my genetic talent at age seven after Lori showed it to me. Seeing my eyeballs shaking leave a lot of people errie feelings.

2. I skipped a grade from Pre-school to first grade. On my first day of school, I was feeling devastated, watching all of my "former" classmates playing in their pre-school/kindergarten playground by looking through the chicken coop.

3. During my junior high school year, I ordered my classmates to be my body guards. Pretending to be Nancy Drew, I used my bobbin pin to open one of the teachers' classroom door during the Snack Time. I found a carton of cigarettes and flushed ALL OF THEM in the girl's toilet without being seen by teachers.

4. While I was traveling with a classmate's family for three weeks in the Midwest, I discovered the fireflies for the first time in my life. I automatically knew how the light worked, but my classmate didn't. She asked me how the fireflies got their lights. Without a doubt, I made my own story up by telling her that "Humans put the hearing aid batteries in the fireflies' bodies." Boy,she bought the story and ran up to her mom. At the end, I got a scold from her mom who was not pleased for making this story up to her daughter.

5. I once saved a deaf woman's life, who was in early 80's. On that night, I was playing UNO with deaf parents, and deaf friends. The deaf mother became weaker and weaker, so I questioned about her symptoms. I automatically knew it was a sign of having a stroke. From there, I called 911 through by Telephone Device for the Deaf. At first, they hung up on me. I had to tell them over the speaker to use the TDD and ordered to have fireman and an ambulance to come. When the firemen came, they thought I was wrong. But my instinct didn't stop me, so I was being bold and told them to take her to the hospital where they had a sign language interpreter. By the time, she arrived in a hospital where the doctor and interpreter were waiting for her. In a few minutes later, the doctor told the fireman in a front of me that I was right!

6. I was one of the Keynotes for my High School graduation in a front of approximate 600-1000 people. ( It took me five months to practice on my speech without telling anyone except for my parents and speech therapist.) After giving a speech, some of the strangers came up asking me, " Is it true that you are completely deaf?" Boy, I felt so good about that for all of my hard work.

7. Last, I am very good at sensing something is not right.(That was my husband David says so.) From my husband's point of views, he sees that my talents that I can observe a person's need and to help from there -- mostly in education field. When it has nothing to do with educating someone, I once in a while wake up in the middle of the night and sense something wasn't right of someone I know.

I'm tagging, Ginny, "Medications of the Pany Family, " and Mom, "C and B Scene." I couldn't bare to dare to tag to the people I don't know. That's the only thing I am bending rule number three except I did state 7 new things about me.

The guidelines are:
1 Link the person who has tagged you
2 Tell seven true things about yourself
3 Tag seven new people
4 Leave a message with the person you have tagged so they know about it

Under the Weather

Yesterday, I started feeling drowsy with full of head colds and chest pain. While trying to stay on the top of everything, one was taking care of Ryan's head injury while he was at school (I will explain on the next blog when my head isn't foggy.) But later on that night, I couldn't take any longer because my physical prevented me from doing any more energy as I normally do.

But Dylan had a soft heart in him. He lent me a dry washcloth to ease my chest pain because he thought it would take my chest pain away. Isn't that sweet of him? Second, he volunteered to read a book to Ryan, "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, and Blue Fish" because I had a very heavy nasal voice.

The next day, I'm feeling like a lady in a commercial with a sinus headache blowing it up. I was pretty bummed because we were supposed to go out to spend an entire weekend with one of my good friends up in Ventura County. I hope this dear couple would forgive me for taking a rain check.

One thing, I could not complain for having this flu now because I would feel a lot better in time for Thanksgiving. I would not want to give my husband's family a repeating flu that the family got it while visiting Deby's and Ginger's last Thanksgiving.

When I have enough energy, I will fill more news including doing the Tagging Game that my sister in law, Deby did to me.

Locked Out

Have you ever had any experience having your own child/children locking you out? It happened to me a couple of times.

A night before my sons went to bed, I asked Ryan which clothes he would like to wear for the next day. So, he picked the clothes out and put it on the top of the linden. The next morning, I put Ryan's clothes on. Unexpectedly,he was unnerved to find his "white" top even though it was his choice. He ran downstairs and locked himself in a guest bathroom's door!

I've tried to flatter him to come out by offering his breakfast meal, hugs, picking him all the way to the van (though he is able to walk to the van most to himself), etc. It didn't work. Dylan just interpreted what he had said to me, " Ryan is laughing, " "No, I don't want to come out!" "No, I don't want a breakfast!" But he was behaving in an ambivalent mood!

Of course, I had an extra key for the keyhole. Frankly, I am not very good at it. I had hoped Ryan would open the door (he knows how to lock and unlocked the door.) It took us forty five minutes for him to come out, and we were already late for work and school!!!

For the first time, we were tardy for school/work since the school began. I had to call the schools. They both thought it was hilarious, but not me!

Yet, it was not the first time it happened to me.

1) Dylan locked our master room door when he was 20 months old with a shower and toilet while I had Ryan, who was five months old. I was nervous wrecked, but fortunately the next door neighbor had a son who works for Locksmith.

2) Both kids locked me out in the backyard while they were in the house, laughing at me in a front of the sliding door! It took them a while to open the sliding door. (Dylan was 3 and Ryan was 1 1/2)

3) Not only having kids locking the doors, I accidentally locked my husband out in the dark until 11 PM. Good thing, it was only twenty minutes after I figured why David was not in the house. It took him a while to unfastened his anger toward me!

Our Newest Singers

During our dinner time, Ryan sang a song out of blue. I wish I knew the longest song he had sang for us without a video. But knowing that both of them had learned basic songs at school.

But this time, I had to bribe them by offering one small candy if they were willing to do in a front of a video. It worked! Be sure to turn the volume up and listen to their cute voices.

Ryan sings, "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Stars"

After Ryan finished singing a song, Dylan eagerly wanted to be in a ham in a front of a video. Who knows he will be a prominent young man?

Dylan sings, "Row, Row Your Boat"

Admittedly, they sang a song far much better than me. I never or ever memorize a single song ! I'm not joking.

Halloween Tricks and Treats

Weeks before Halloween came, I questioned my sons what they wanted to be for Halloween.

Do you want to be Blues Brothers? NO!

Do you want to be Siamese Twins? NO !

Do you want to be Super Heroes? NO !

I gave it up by suggesting my ideas for Dylan and Ryan. So, I asked them directly, "What do you WANT to be for Halloween? " The answer from the boys never crossed my mind.

"A GHOST !" declared by Dylan. Ryan followed the same comment, "Yeah, a ghost !"

That was so easy and cheap, right? It only cost us five dollar bucks for the white sheet. Then, I thought it would be awesome to have unique color ghosts. Dylan made a "hesitate" comment that "It would be a fake ghost ! The real ghost is WHITE !" Ryan overheard his comment and followed his determining decision.

Well, on Halloween night, we were anxious to put the really simple Halloween costume on them, so did the boys. However, by the time we put it on them, it only lasted for five minutes!

Dylan sobbed, "This is the WORST, WORST, Halloween costume I EVER HAD!" Then he rushed to the bedroom,shut the door, and pouted. Ryan decided not to wear a ghost costume either.

What shall I do at the very last minute costume?? My frustrated INCREASED, but I had to calm myself down before I talked with Dylan who was lying on a bed, pouting ! In a very short time of amount of creating a last minute costume, I gave Dylan a choice: either stay home helping his dad passing the candies out or come up with the Halloween costume.

As a team, we worked together. Ryan was pretty easy because I found Dylan's last year costume: Car Racer. He accepted this outfit this time without a struggle. Whew !

Wonder what about Dylan??? Well, he was yet stubborned. After a couple of minutes deciding what to wear for Halloween, he ended up being an Outback Camper ! Finally, no more frustrating, whining and fighting ! He was satisfied with his last minute outfit ! He told me that he preferred to have a different costume, and NEVER wanted to be a Ghost again ! Sigh !














Before we left for Trick or Treat, they both had their best smiles on their last minute Halloween costumes!

After an hour of going out for a trick or treat, we returned home finding David watching a portable DVD movie while passing the candies out! Ryan decided to help his dad out to the remainder children coming by our home. Dylan followed Ryan's positive footstep.

Just before their bedtime, they pleaded me to have more candies! Who would want to put it up with their high energy level? Not me or even David ! We both were too exhausted to have any more left-over energy with them. So, they were told to wait for only one candy for their next day's lunch!

No more hearing any whining or groaning for the rest of the night!

But let's hope next Halloween would be a lot easier, yet expect to spend more extra money! You'd better prepare for me to be really poor for the next Christmas gifts or donate us the money for the boys' Halloween costumes.