swimming

These are pics from a couple of weeks ago at our team's time trials. I couldn't take any pics this past Saturday at our first meet because I lost our camera the day before. Plus, my dSLR is broken.

We learned so much from the time trials. First of all, if it's too cold (the weather has been unseasonably cold here in Sacramento as of late), skip the early morning warm-up. Elise was so cold afterwards, she cried and kept saying she wanted to go home. Apparently, Coach Daddy did a good job pumping her up because she came in first place in the backstroke for the entire 6 and unders!

Secondly, we need to tighten the kids' goggles before a race. After Elise dived into the pool for her freestyle event, her goggles slipped up her face and she stopped a few times during the race, trying to adjust them.

This boy is an awesome swimmer. This is his first year on the swim team so he's competing against kids who have been doing this for years. He has natural ability, both Giao and I can see it. We know he's just going to get faster and faster as he builds up his strength. Plus, he has these huge, flat, size 5 feet that are like flippers! Whenever his feet hurt from too much walking or standing and he wishes his feet weren't so flat, we tell him they're good for swimming!

Swim team is a huge commitment. There's practices everyday during the summer, the meets are an all-day event on Saturdays, and the parents have to work at the meets. We're going to have to wake up REALLY early for some of the upcoming meets because they're far away. That is going to suck. But, it's worth it. It is so fun watching my kids and all the other kids swim. I am so impressed by all of them. I can't even get across the pool without stopping (several times) to catch my breath. I've always wanted to learn how to do the butterfly. Giao tried to teach me once. It was not pretty. And, here are my kids doing endless laps of all the strokes during their practices.

lazy sunday

I was sick on Monday. I slept from the time the kids came home from school until 7pm. I was fine Tuesday and Wednesday but woke up feeling like poop on Thursday. I mustered enough strength to get up and get Langston breakfast and take him to school. Giao came home for the second half of the day and took care of Kiefer, picked the kids up from school and took them to swim practice. He also stayed home all day Friday and I started to feel better by the evening. We went to visit Giao's dad Friday night since he had to have surgery on his shoulder on Thursday. He looked so weak and frail just laying there in his bed. I'm used to seeing him on the go, playing tennis, gardening, working on the house...thank God he is going to be alright and is expected to make a full recovery.


On Saturday, I planted a few trees in the backyard, planted my tomato plants in my vegetable planters, and cleaned up the house. Giao and Langston headed over to the movies to watch Iron Man 2 with some friends. It was kind of a last minute thing so we told Langston that we had a surprise for him. He started guessing what it could be. "You're going to buy me a new airsoft gun?" No. "You're taking me to Gamestop to buy a new game?" Nope. "You're going to buy me an iPad?" Yeah right. LOL!

Elise was supposed to go to ballet in the morning but had a "little meltdown" and refused to go to class. She just loves to test my patience and I, for the most part, always fail. She is my strong-willed child and according to books about strong-willed children, she was born to test me. Or, as I like to put it, make my life as difficult as possible. By the end, I was spent. I felt guilty and I felt like the worst mother in the entire world. I have to get a handle over this and read up more on how to raise a strong-willed child and maybe even seek family counseling. My worst fear is that we won't have a good relationship when she's older. Later in the evening, we ate dinner at Boudin's and Jack's and then headed on over to Giao's parents house again since the kids were dying to see their cousins, who were here all the way from Tustin. Kiefer was slightly feverish all day and at one point he went into one of the spare rooms in house and just laid in the bed by himself. That was a sure sign that he was not feeling well since he is always on the go.

I am at home with the sick little boy. Giao and I had to, literally, force Tylenol down his throat. He depises medicine. Giao took Langston and Elise to Uncle Duc's house. The boys, big and small, are getting some father/son bonding time in with some D & D action. Nerds! I'm just laying on the couch with Kiefer, who seems to be feeling a lot better thanks to the meds. Once he goes down for a nap, I plan on watching all the Sex and the City episodes on OnDemand. Can't wait for the movie!

mother's day, etc.

The Saturday before Mother's Day, we were at Langston and Elise's swim team time trials when Giao gets a text from his mom saying that my father-in-law fell from his bike and broke his clavicle. Well, one broken clavicle turned into a broken clavicle, 3 broken ribs, and a punctured lung. It could have been so much worse if he wasn't wearing a helmet. Thank God he was wearing one. My mother-in-law updated her facebook, thanking Buddha. Haha! Most people I know would thank God but she thanks Buddha :)

I was exhausted from waking up early to get to the swim meet and spending 6 hours there, getting the right kid to the right event, drying off and warming up each kid after each event, making sure each kid had enough food in their tummies and enough sunscreen on their skin and making sure our 3-year old was entertained and happy. I took a 3 hour nap when I got home. Giao, being such a sweet daddy, helped Elise and her bff, Aubrey, set up their lemonade stand. They sold 5 cups of lemonade! One to Aubrey's mom, one to Aubrey's dad, one to Aubrey's brother and sister, and one to Langston, who saved himself 10 cents by bargaining with the girls. Ha!

That night we went to downtown Sac to see Giao's Dad in the hospital. A bunch of Giao's aunts and uncles were there, nieces and nephews, too. Not sure if it's a Vietnamese thing or if it's just Giao's family but, it's nice to see how the extended family always pulls together in times like these. I wish my family was more like this. Well, just sometimes. I'm sure my mother-in-law talked to at least 100 people on the phone that day. She probably loved it, but it would be a bit much for me.

On Mother's Day, I got my run in on the treadmill, showered and got ready to spend the day with my kids. I opened the gifts they made for me at school before heading off to South Sac for some Dim Sum. When we got to the restaurant around 1:30, it was so crowded that we decided to go to the Vietnamese restaurant we frequent, instead. We were all starving and needed to eat ASAP. We got some pho, fried pho with meat/veggie gravy, and meatballs with rice noodles. We enjoyed our meal but it wasn't exactly something I would have chosen to eat on Mother's Day. I would have chosen Korean but there really isn't a good Korean restaurant in Sacramento. Oh how I miss good Korean food! We then picked up a cake for Giao's mom and headed to their place. We spent the rest of the day there and had dinner at Giao's uncle house later that night. So, not exactly the Mother's Day I had envisioned for myself. But, considering my father-in-law's condition, we didn't really have a choice.

On the way home, I got a call from the anesthesiologist who was going to sedate Kiefer at the dentist's the next morning. I told him that Kiefer had a runny nose and was very conjested while sleeping. He told me to call him in the morning if I felt his condition did not improve. I did not sleep well that night. I kept having nighhtmares about the appointment. One being that we left Kiefer while he was getting the work done and then Giao and I got stuck somewhere and could not be there when he woke up. In the morning, Kiefer sounded the same, still very conjested. I called the doctor and cancelled the appointment. I just felt that he should be 100% if he's going to be put through something like that. We now have an appointment in June. I'm still very wary about the whole thing and may just cancel again and let his teeth rot and wait until he'll sit in a dentist's chair awake and unafraid.

what happened to april?

The kids are in their last month of school! I wish I could say that I'm looking forward to summer but 100 degree Sacramento summers are the worst. I miss Torrance weather. We'll be busy with swim practices and meets and hopefully go on a few mini trips, too. Summer vacation always seems to go by in a flash, so I'm really going to make an effort this year to enjoy every second.

So, Kiefer has to be sedated to have his cavities filled. His appointment is on Monday. I'm really anxious about him going under (he's only 3!) but I'm trying really hard not to have any negative thoughts about all that could go wrong. He had his pre-op physical at his pediatrician's office yesterday and I was so surprised to see how good he was. A complete 180 from 5 months ago at his 3-year well. I told him we were going to the doctor's but that they were only going to check him out. And he asks "I'm not getting shots?" He did everything that was asked of him: getting on the scale, opening his mouth, taking deep breaths, etc. I was so proud. So hopefully this will be his first and last time being sedated for dental work and he'll start being less scared at the dentist's office in a couple of months, too!