Successful Dentist Visit

 

 

The video of the visit:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97t7-VVXGyE&feature=youtu.be

I took Sean and Saya to their bi-annual dentist visit last Wednesday.  Aly came along, too, to be a cheerleader for the nervous brother and sister.  I wasn't too worried about two of them because they've done fine in the previous visit.  Oh wait, Saya was actually oppositional to the hygienist the last time.  She wouldn't lay down properly or refused to open her mouth.  I was hopeful though since she seemed excited that she is going to the dentist.  They give the little patients a coin to put in the toy vending machine at the end and Saya was very excited to get it.  Sean was a little nervous, but he was polite and did what the hygienist asked him to do.  He even let her take an X-ray.  I have never ever seen his mouth X-ray before.  It was the cutest thing I have seen recently!  Beneath the baby teeth I could see the grown-up teeth lining up waiting for their time.  It was like a busy teeth apartment with double rows of teeth and his wisdom teeth are already forming on the back.  There was one bad news though.  The dentist said he has two extra teeth buried above his front tooth.  He said it's very common for Asians to have.  That means he has to have orthodontist extract those two teeth and it is going to be a big dental surgery for Sean...  $$$$ Oh well!  I figured we would spend a lot of money on kids' teeth.  It was the best dentist visit in terms of how they did and I was very proud of them! 

Chores

 



I helped wash my Mom's car!

Campbell car wash crew.  They tried their best but my car got dirtier...

Very serious Sean vacuuming the kitchen.

 

I've always had challenges in the area of having kids "help" with chores around the house.  Whenever I had them help me previously, it added more work on my part.  In a busy family like mine, efficiency is a key to reduce stress and I just didn't want my kids messing with my to do list.  Well, then there is summer.  Sean is constantly asking "what can I do?" and as I couldn't think of anything to suggest, I said "why don't you vacuum the kitchen?  I will give you a quarter," and waited for his reaction.  To my surprise, he said "yeah, I can do it" and he really did it, complete with getting edges and corners with the wand attachment.  He was so proud of the quarter he earned, he asked for more chores around the house.  I asked him to fold a basket of laundry and showed him how to fold them properly.  He was very careful to fold it as neatly as he could and ended up folding two baskets of laundry.  He earned two quarters for two baskets and in total earned 75 cents. 

When we went to pick up Noah at his therapy, Sean found $1 bill on the ground.  He couldn't believe his luck and now is hooked on looking for money on the ground.  I taught him about not to take the money if it is a lot and that if it is near any businesses, in which case he must turn the money in to either police or the business close by.  He found a penny in our garage when we got back and he thought he was the luckiest kid in the world.  Funny how little things can make a kid very happy.  I am pretty excited that now Sean can do a good job completing some simple chores.  He does it thoroughly like it bothers him if it is not perfect.  I love that about him because I know I can trust him.  I was a sloppy kid and I still am, so I am quite impressed!  He must have gotten that from Mike.  Now that Sean is willing, the girls are also wanting to help me around the house to earn some coins.  They are still young and can't finish the job like Sean, but it's a good start.  In the future, I will have at least three helpers around the house.  That would be fantastic.  That is how I imagined a large family operates.  It's almost there.  Bitter sweet reminder that my kids are getting big.

Videos Only!

I finally created my own YouTube account!  This Blogger website is not very good with uploading videos for me so I ventured out to YouTube.  I don't use the camcorder function much on my camera so much anymore since all my kids started walking.  I am going to regret it in the future, so I will promise myself to take more video of the children.  I am sure the videos from some special occasions are great but I think the best ones are the everyday kind, kids screaming, making jokes, the usual dinner scene etc...  Those are the kinds of moments that are a big chunk of the childhood yet easily forgotten.  At my age, the reality, dreams and imaginations start to blend together and some memories are hard to tell if it really happened.  It would be for all of our benefit to record more of those typical Campbell moments for sure.  AND, I will be able to share them here with you all!  This time around, the videos are from the girls' recital from their Japanese school.  They did great although looked confused at times.  They are kind of shy when it comes to things like this.  They looked cute regardless and I had fun watching them perform.

Saya's
http://youtu.be/PHxgz1SCVHo
Aly's
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGkjqVaLSg8

Busy Busy Busy!

Hello everyone!  I have been so busy lately with kids out of school for the summer.  They ask me "Mommy, what can I do now?" every 15 minutes and I don't get any moment to do any housework or get on the computer.  Speaking of computer, I got a new tablet!  My 2 year-old Surface Pro started acting up and we took it into Microsoft Shop to have it replaced.  It turns out, they don't make the same kind anymore and they offered me to switch to the newer Surface.  Oh yes please!  I am glad Mike was the one who took it in because he also brought home a jazzy red keyboard and a red leather tablet case.  I am all set now :-). 

So my crazy summer started.  I don't know how those homeschooling Moms do it, but children get bored pretty easily.  I have been keeping up with reading and writing for Sean and Alyson, but they finish them in about an hour and half the max.  The rest of the time are spent at the park, backyard, farmer's market, library and more park.  I am already tanned dark from standing around outside playing goalie so that Noah won't escape.  Noah has been a handful lately even more so than the last time I made the same statement!  He is so active and fast, I have to stay alert all the time even inside the house.  He bounces around like a ping pong ball on the furniture and off the windows sills.  He hangs from the curtain rods like a Tarzan!  He even manages to climb on the 6 feet fence in the backyard and I am so afraid he is going to climb over it soon.  Do we need to build a bubble around him and the house?  I wish we can figure out the way to best use his talent and energy in safer and useful way! 

It's tiring, but we are enjoying our summer.  It's so nice to feel the sunshine on my skin as we don't get to do that most of the months here in the Pacific Northwest.  The trees, plants and flowers look pretty happy and so are the people.  It's a bonus that driving around town is easy since there are less cars on the road during summer.   I was planning to take the girls to Japan this summer, but we postponed it to October.  My mother had a surgery to remove a cyst on her wrist and I wanted to go help her, but the airfare this summer is too ridiculous.  My Mom had her surgery and recovering nicely from it.  She helped me when I had my babies and I truly wished I could go.  Moms are grand.  Not that I can ever return everything she gave me.

I will post pictures we took recently unedited.  I cannot find my Photoshop CD :-(

Here they are:

Saya and Aly's Japanese school had a show in mid June.  Saya was dancing to a Japanese children's song.  Cute and funny - both of my girls acted like they have no clue what they were doing...

Aly danced her ballet number.  An assistant girl was behind Aly to help her out and she pretty much stayed behind Sly most of the time :-)

Mike had his big 40th birthday in mid June.  I don't think he was to thrilled to be in 40s but really what can you do?  LOL

Aly had her gymnastic show, too.  Busy girl.  She was very proud of her medal she received for attending the show.

Aly looked pretty in the sun in the backyard.

They are always happier outside.

Our messy and chaotic picnic.  I look forward to the day when I can picnic in style again (if I ever did).

Noah was taking a break from running and climbing.  He must be training to become a Ninja.  That is the only explanation.

School Carnival

Sean and Aly's school had a fundraising carnival at their school on Friday.  I am sure I'd mentioned this before, but their elementary school is AMAZING!  First off, their building is only three years old and has the aesthetically pleasing and practical design through out.  I like their resource room which is the neatest and the most organized room of its kind.  It makes things so much easier for teachers and volunteers to get their jobs done since they are always well stocked and neatly organized.  I get very annoyed when I volunteer at Noah's school because their resource room is a mess!  We are very lucky to send my kids to awesome schools regardless of a small resource room hunch at Noah's.  They are top rated schools in a top rated school district in the State!  We got lucky considering we didn't research anything about schools when buying our house eight and half years ago. 

Where was I?  Yes, the school carnival.  It's one of the biggest events at school and the one that involves the most preparation.  There were about 20 games run by parent volunteers, ruffle drawings for big prizes, food trucks, cake walks, it was a chaotic but fun event for everyone.  I volunteered to run the ball tossing game and I tried to be as fun and cheerful as possible.  I think the kids had lots of fun at my game :-).   My kids were all over the place and seemed to be having a very good time.  I just didn't see them very much.  Mr. Reimergartin was wearing a tutu and a tiny hat on his head.  He looked very cute and told him he should keep the hat. 

The school is ending very soon and I feel sad a little since I worked very closely with the teachers this year.  It's touching to be able to see my children, their students, grow and learn the new skills together.  Sean struggled this year with his inattention and anxiety and Mr. Reimergartin and I worked as a team.  We talked about his week, what worked, what didn't, the progress he made and how he was rewarded etc... and I am just very thankful for the sincere concern and effort he put in for Sean.  This year was very special to me and was an eye opening year to see first hand how a successful school is run by both teachers and parents working together.   It's another proof, it always takes effort to create something marvelous! 

Good-bye Training Wheels ~ Alyson

May was a bike to school/work month in Bellevue (maybe elsewhere, too) so kids have been riding their bikes to school whenever they can.  Alyson, seeing her classmates ride their bikes without training wheels, was gaining a little courage everyday to ditch her training wheels.  She started practicing riding sans training wheels since last week on our driveway.  When we bought this house eight and half years ago, this type of activity was what we imagined doing on our long driveway.  It makes me smile to see my little girl with an over-sized pink helmet and tutu focusing so intently to master her big girl bike skill. 

I was very impressed with Sean because he was so sweet and patient with her.  He cheered her on saying "Aly, you are doing it!  Good job!!" and did demonstrations for her.  He watched her patiently on the lawn while she practiced and gave her advice when she was having a trouble.  I could not be happier seeing him so gentle and being very brotherly towards his sister.  Maybe neurotypical big brothers are often like that but for Sean, it was like a gift.  It was so special and I will always remember it.  I think Alyson will also. 

Now Aly is a big girl bike rider!  She only fell once or twice and she can now circle around the driveway for a long time.  When Sean learned how to bike without training wheels, he wanted to keep riding forever.  Alyson also felt the same way and wanted to keep on going if it wasn't dinner time.  I am very proud of her new achievement!  She is blossoming in America despite my initial worry when she returned from Japan.  Hooray for Alyson!

Sean's First Camping Trip

 

 

Sean and I went on a camping trip to Hood Canal on Memorial Day weekend with friends.  I've been wanting to take the kids to camping but for a girl who only went camping a few times back in college days, it was a long leap to conquer.  When my friend, Jen, asked me if we wanted to join them on a camping trip, I knew it was my best chance to break into the big wide world of camping.  Jen is an avid camper and has tons of experience camping solo and camping with kids.  I had a tent, but that was about it.  I made a list of all other gears I need for the trip and in the frenzy, went to REI flagship store in Seattle, Sports Authority and Costco.  Surprisingly, I made most of my purchases at Costco.  They sold better quality things at cheaper price.  Perfect! The food was another big item I had to plan and prepare.  When I was all packed up, I had a big international sized suitcase full of things, Sean had his carry-on style suitcase with his things, an ice chest with food and drinks, and a Rubbermaid tub with snacks, dry foods and cooking tools.  Mike's little CRV was fully loaded and Sean sat squished on the backseat.  The good thing was that the camp site wasn't too far, only an hour and half southwest of Bellevue.  The weather forecast wasn't in our favor with chance of rain, but we were all excited to have the best time anyway.

The camp ground was crowded and it was a bit different from what I was used to in Idaho.  It was not very private, but in a way it felt safer.  It was right on the Hood Canal and we could see the canal from our camp site.  There were relatively clean bathrooms and showers close by, so it was convenient.  We set up the tents first and got our sleeping situation squared away.  My tent is a 4 person tent and is super easy to set up, so even I could do it by myself.  I hauled in my huge suitcase which probably took over one third of the space in the tent and inflated my airbed.  Jen and Kevin were busy setting up their big 10 person two room tent and their two queen air beds.  In the meanwhile, the boys collected some firewood for the fire.  In many ways, I was so glad Jen and Kevin were experts at camping.  They swiftly made fire and set up the cooking station for us to make dinner.  Jen made a yummy hamburger and it tasted so good to eat outdoor under the tall pine trees.  The boys were having so much fun running around being boys, pretending they are Ninjas or treasure hunters.  Sean exclaimed "I just found a piece of history!" and we all laughed.  Kevin's special s'mores were delish as he is very particular about the marshmallows.  They have to be golden colored and sagging from the skewers!   I've always burnt mine and thought that was the way. 

We were cold the first night and I was uncomfortable as Sean kept pushing me towards the edge.  The second night was much better as we were dressed warmer and knocked out from the fatigue.  Jen and I were busy most of the time preparing for the next meal or taking care of the boys, but we found some time to sit around the campfire and talk.  It was blissful watching the fire dance and listening to the wood crackle.  I think I know why avid campers are addicted to camping.  There is something about it that is mind cleansing.  Sean had a really good time hanging out with his best buddy.  Now that I have done it with one kid, I think I will take the girls with me the next time.  I think I need to buy a bigger tent to fit two queen size mattresses.  What a healthy dose of fun!  Washington is a beautiful state and we have so much to explore.