It's a boy!

I had ultrasound this Monday. Before the appointment, we asked J if he thinks it's a boy or girl. He said, "I want a boy, but it's probably going to be a girl. And I'm okay if it's a girl." Then we found out that it's a boy! Baby showed the "proof" pretty clear to us, even though he was very wiggly the whole time. Everything looks good and he seemed to be growing healthy. Kids really enjoyed the view of their baby brother on the screen. What a amazing technology! See you in about 4 months, babe!

Third generation Scoutmaster

My husband is now a Scoutmaster, third generation in his family. So is one of his brother. Third generation Eagle Scout, too. I am so proud of him. He will make a good leader for those teenage boys. I'm sure he'll enjoy camping with bunch of boys as outdoor is his love. He left today for the annual boyscout camp after work. I won't see him till Saturday afternoon. I don't think we have ever been apart for this long (yeah, I know it's only for a few day). Kids and I will miss him. Well, we already do. My friend's husband is an assistant scout leader and he has been there since Monday! I guess I can't complain... She and I will have "Widows' Club" on Friday - nothing fancy. It's just a play date for kids, and for us, well, it's more of stress relief as we'll have adult level conversation (i.e., girls' talk).

What kids have learned lately

Kids and I went to a local farm for strawberry picking, once last week, and again yesterday. They have learned;
- Hand-picked strawberries taste so much better
- J learned to become very good at finding sweet ones
- Some strawberries have funny shapes, some are big, some are small
- And some taste good, and some don't
- Raspberries grow in very poky bushes
- Unripened raspberries have lighter color and they don't taste as good
- They don't come out as easy as well-ripened ones
- Sweet peas come in shells, and they taste actually sweet
- Strawberries cooked in a pot with sugar and lemon juice would eventually turn to be jam
- Mommy's home-made jam tastes like the most delicious thing in the whole world

Ninja!

I confess. I am Ninja. Well, only to catch a fly. Usually by a single swing. No, I don't use a fly swatter. In fact, I don't own one. I use a magazine, usually a Better Homes and Garden one - not so thick like a phone book, but thin enough that I can roll it, and I don't get the black ink like I get from new papers. Today, there was a fly in our living room. I was getting ready to swat that guy. I had a magazine ready, but J wanted to do it. He said confidently, "I can do it!" Yes, he can do a lot of things, but killing a fly? He needs at least another 20 some years of practice, I thought. Oh, I was wrong. He swatted the fly on the living room window. One shot. The fly was dead. Wow! He is Ninja! Good ol' Japanese blood. Fly swatting skill must be engraved in the gene or something. Maybe I can retire from fly swatting.... or maybe I will go to a next level - catching by chopsticks....Nah, I'll let J do that.

Entertainment of the day

J called me loud from our small half-bathroom, "MA-MA~!!" I knew what was going on - J just finished pooping. Ever since he has been potty-trained, he has to show me what his body can produce, every time. He is a very good eater and has a very very healthy body, I mean healthy GI tract. Without going into too much of detailed description, I must say he has clogged toilet more than I ever have in my entire life. And, tonight, I simply just didn't want to move out of couch. So, I asked my husband. He was eating his late-dinner on the couch, and of course, he refused (I would too!). We told J that he had to wait. In a meantime, his sweet little sister went for us to check it out. Then we heard, "Wow! Josh Ooooooookki Unchi-chi!!! ("HUGE poop!" in Japanese)" She was quite fascinated by it and repeatedly reported to us (Thanks, M). We told him to wipe and flush, but J replied "I think it'll probably clog the toilet again." *sign* Oh, boy. I was almost praying it would flush. J gave us a live report on the water level status and we thought it might clog, again. But it flushed! YEAH!!! We all exclaimed! Whew! M waved and said good-bye to it as she went, "Bye-bye! Luv you." Who would have thought such love can be created! Well, to me, I don't have to plunge or clean the floor, so I'm pretty happy about that. And yes, it is very nice to have a child being fully potty-trained. Life is good, isn't it?

Good read

I just checked out a book from our library titled "In praise of stay-at-home-mom" by Dr. Laura. It has been very encouraging and reassuring for me to know that I made the right choice - to become a stay-at-home-mom. I have struggled with guilt, identity and all kind of stuff since I resigned from my full-time job 2 1/2 years ago. But I am finally at the point that I can proudly say that I am a stay-at-home-mom and raising my own kids. And I am loving it. But sure it was a rough path to get here. I couldn't have made it here without my very supportive and understanding husband and my stay-at-home mom friends. I almost wish I had known Dr. Laura earlier....but this is really a good read. I'd better post on my goodreads.com account, (I don't do too often, but I am not really a fiction reader either...).

My little innocent girl....

My sweet innocent girl, M, has discovered her inner strength, maybe. We were at a park yesterday. She and her friends found a Caterpillar. She sat down, looked at it curiously, observed very carefully....then, "Ya! Ya!" She STUMPED on the poor little caterpillar! "I killed it!! I killed it!!" She exclaimed....oh, boy. Well, I guess, at least she was not scared of it, but, that was not exactly what I thought she would do....my little innocent girl is sure growing.