Home toddler tennis court - sort of $@&?"!;

So, Hayden always asks to "ploay tenus" which means "play tennis". Whenever he is at the park and sees a tennis courts. So we looked up to see how to properly train a toddler. It said,

1. Buy bigger level 2 tennis balls that is easier to hit and less bouncy
2. Play on 1/4 a tennis court size
3. Get a lower net ( we made ours instead Bc it was too easy to make for the price they were charging ($60)
4. Hit the ball on the ground and rally by rolling it before you get it to fly
5. Make it fun ( we added sprinkling water)

Hahaha... As it turned out, he had us look silly playing while he watched us... It did beat the heat thou

Right after swim - now gotta play some ball

He loves this type of stuff... and I love it that he loves it.

Our make shift pitcher's mound.

His home plate drawn in. (do not know if you can see it, but I had to draw in two little feet so that he would stand and face the pitch sideways or else he would face us directly which is not very fundamentally sound)

As I ran in to post this blog, saw him peeing and practicing his swing at the same time - thats multitasking for you! - silly kid ;)
(than I heard my wife yelling at me bc he was out there with wet clothes and his pants down- understandably so- she was looking for a sander to sand a door down on our door project) haha - thats my life :)

Hayden does not go anywhere without his bat ( 2 to 1 odds, something is gonna break soon)

thats my wife who never rests! In her scrubs just barely out of work Saturday today working on her door project-

Portable Water Heater!

So, it started to warm up yesterday before it cooled down again today. The temperature was actually 80 degrees and sunny, so I decided to let Hayden play in his portable pool again. This is after a recent ski trip which had a little indoor pool in the hotel. He always has so much fun in the pool that I said to myself that I would take him to an indoor pool when I get back to Houston. I decided to take him to a 24hr fitness with an indoor pool yesterday, but found out that the 24 hr on post oak and San Felipe has permanantly closed for good. When did that happen? Guess I wouldn't know- ain't like I pump much iron anymore. Anyhow, i just whipped out that little pool we had in our garage and started to fill it with water. But.... The water is so freaking cold- so I filled up a tub of water and carried it out to the backyard and mixed it with the cold water. I repeated this step at least 10x... Tubs and tubs of hot water in and out. That's way way too much work... An excuse for another usable gadget/toy? So today, I am in the market for a portable water heater... I have always wanted one for Hayden because even in the summer sometimes the water is way too cold- I wanna make sure Hayden is not too cold, but prolly just as much that I love gadgets that make sense- I read somewhere too that one may be able to attach a hose to the pre-existing house water heater- or maybe I'll funnel water from inside the house's sink through a tube from Home Depot or something and funnel it outside... It may work...this may work and save some good money.... But I kinda hope it doesn't- hehe



part 2

Yes!!! A $10 solution. Right next to the garage and backyard is our washer and dryer, and the hot water line to the washer requires a standard $10 water hose. So no portable water heater- for now- hehe. ( Times are tough and saving money is pretty damn fun too.

Hayden in his ski class just after a run

As Hayden always is, he is timid at a new place. He went to ski school last year already and got used to the slopes but barely went down it - more like getting used to snow and just getting into skis in general. This year at a new ski school, he was not happy the first day. But as persistent parents, we knew it was good for him to continue and conquer his fear of new places and surroundings on day two of ski school. We expected him to hate it and mostly hang out inside the lodge and play in the warm daycare center. But behold!!!! It was not so, he was out on the slopes all day! He loved it and went again and again and again. The school was very good in that they understood him and kept pushing him in a fun way. He loved it! We saw him clap and laugh after each run. We hid ourselves in our helmets, goggles and ski masks so he could not recognize us (funny thing is, that he kinda did recognize us - but he wondered why the heck did we not respond to him as he said our names? We did not talk to him as we got closer because we wanted him to continue). Nevertheless, he looked over to us, but kept going on with his lessons. We were able to see him go run after run after run. What excitement it was for us. In case the video was not available on the other blog I posted, there are two videos on my facebook that did post. Hayden had a blast! Great trip.

Slopes

do not know if this video posted - either way... its a video of Hayden racing down the slopes vs his other ski classmate. They sort of crashed but it all was in fun and a minor crash for a minor race.

ICE SKATES FOR ALL

For a few reasons, we bought the whole family ice skates. Hayden needs occupational therapy and we figured this is a fun way to do it. He really enjoys ice skating at our local rink (the Galleria). And by the way... its for hockey, not figure skating... (coughing) - another reason is that the prices we got on e-bay will save us money from rentals each time. But the main reason is that it fun to skate with Hayden but just so painful and intolerable with the rental skates. There is a burning sensation on the underside of the foot within a couple minutes (kinda like a plantar fasciitis feeling). The rentals at are so freakin painful to wear for Michelle and myself and probably for Hayden too (if he could tell us)... I didn't ever remember it being that painful before when i went here and there way back when.

Hayden's and Sid the Science Kid

Hayden loves going to chuck e cheese but hates seeing chuck e cheese himself. Same with Barney and all big figures. But for some reason, He loves Sid the show, and the big fellow live himself. He ran past the line and made it up there (2 times) he ran between the people, so I couldn't just bump parents over. One good thing... strike that... one GREAT thing.. got a picture with him and Sid and did not have to wait in a long ass line (well sort of got a picture). The young volunteer girl said that Hayden could go next with Sid and take a better pic, but i didn't have the heart to take her up on that and cut in line front of all those people. It was at the Children's museum. Needless to say he had a blast seeing Sid live and watching the cartoon in their auditorium.

Hayden's embarkation to the rest of his life

So... Michelle showed me how to bypass syncing to the computer then posting blogs . Instead I can post pictures directly from my iPhone to my blog. Before, I could only use my iphone to upload data and not pictures. Now I can do both. So I am officially blogging again. Woot woot!

Hayden is at his new school - WestView! Its a perfect fit and it is the first school that he actually doesn't just tolerate or flat out hate. He smiles, and appears to genuinely enjoy his time there. He does not speak much, which is one of the reasons why he is there, but we can tell that he likes it. After many choices, we feel that we have "finally arrived!". It's the only school in Houston that's specifically designated for Asperger's and high functioning autism children. Our purpose is to eventually transition Hayden out of Westview and into a regular public or private school sometime in his future though near or far.
A little tidbit and some characteristics about autism:
-first of all, there is a huge range from severe to mild. Fortunately, for him, his case is mild (they call it high functioning autism where the autism spectrum is vast).
-intelligence and IQ are not affected at all
- he has the potential to catch up and even excel in his education (even a small percentage are actually gifted in certain areas but this isn't always the case).
-delayed speech and vocabulary
-cognition is fine (process of acquiring knowlegde and understanding), but delayed until speech is caught up to speed
-introverts and socially tend to prefer to play by themselves or only people most familiar with
- delayed fine motor and sometimes gross motor skills
- tendency to prefer to align things in neat lines
- flapping of hands- hand to head banging-specificities in food textures, etc etc- so there you have it- the gist of autism.

Sure, sure, he just a shy kid that is learning at his own pace? I thought the same at first too. Many parents with one chid worry too much and are kind of a hypochondriac for their one child. I call it the "mono kiddo syndrome". But this was not us - we actually said... "he will be fine..." "every kids learns at different levels at different times..." but we were patient and he still did not progress and he consistently was not hitting his speaking landmarks- so we sought help with information and the steps started two years ago. Its more than just a simple delay and there is no denying it. It is what it is. We have no problems that he is autistic. All any parent wants is to have the best for their child, and that is all we want as well.

What is most important for us that we want for him? Would we like him to improve his speech and tap into his gifted talents and be a genius and get an amazing career? As importunate this is to us (and for every parent) for their child to be successful for themselves, it's not nearly as important to us as the next thing is. We would rather he be an average or even a "B" and "C" student but instead have good socially skills and happiness with good friends and a quality relationship with his better half and eventual wife. We have met several parents who have had there autistic child excel in college in fields like engineering or science, or math with fabulous careers. But they are socially awkward and have few friends (if any) and no companion ever! There is also the other half, where autistic kids eventually fit perfectly into society, but are behind "education-wise". Of course, we prefer him to be balanced, but if given one choice, we would choose the later. On the contrary, Some kids from Westview have entered regular school and excelled in the school work and social skills and has regular healthy lives with both. That is our goal of course. On the same not, some kids have been at Westview for 8 years now. One never knows. All we can do is try and hope for the best.

We are so blessed to have Hayden in our lives and are so pleased to have this amazing school in Houston. What is different from this school from others is that it fits his needs and it knows how to do it. It helps draw out his vocabulary. It has a gymnasium to improve his motor skills. The teachers understand how the kids are and are patient and are constantly having the kids do what they need to. Simple things such as carrying your own book bag. Standing and waiting in line. Pulling up your pants and washing your own hands by yourself - There are available one on one speech therapy sessions and occupational therapy sessions available.

I will be posting all of Hayden's updated and achievements as he progresses. Basically the way I see his level is like this: he is a year or two years behind in his speech and only slightly behind in his cognition (mainly due to the fact that he does not say anything so we cannot understand all he knows. but.... the beauty of where he is at is that he is improving so fast and although he is behind, it is a sharp fast climb. He has a decent chance of catching up to speed in the next few years. I also feel that lack of confidence is so important to prevent and I want to help him early in his life before this occurs. Already, it is so obvious to see his pride and joy as he adds vocabulary. He glows when he tells us something he always knew but never could say before. Now that he is speaking just a little more, we are just now seeing how much he really already knows. It's just tearjerking that he is saying words that we are about to teach but he learned it a long time ago (but just now telling us it). Its kinda like a switch went on and he is ready. As previously mentioned, he is still behind, but it appears that he is ready to start making the connection. To see how proud he is to let us know what he already knows is why we are working hard to prevent him from losing confidence. We really see it as a cup half full. It's kinda like we were able to have an extra year of his youth to enjoy with him as time is just flying by so fast. We are very confident he will catch up and encouraged that one day he will excel even further in both his speech and social skills. Although Westview teaches the extra stuff, they make a point to have everything else similiar to regular school classes so that when he transitions out, it will be a smooth move.

This blog is kind of a preface to many of the blogs to come. It gives a little summary of Hayden and autism, but the ones to follow will be different. It will track his progress in a journal/blog like format for him to have in the future when he sees all that he will have surely accomplish.

We are just so happy for him right now, and though the road is still very long for him, it looks like at least the road is paved and not as rough as it was before.

Been so busy lately and been a bit stressed out

Unable to post new pictures from my iPhone and syncing pics to computer has been difficult lately-

But was able to have a fun relaxing weekend in Destin, FL.  It was our first family vacation there.  It's really nice considering how near and clear the water was an that it was still in the states.  What a great stress releiver.  Hayden was timid at first with the waves, but by day 3, he loved all aspects of beach life.  
Also, all my free time has been dedicated to the building of Hayden's treehouse.  It has been very fun building it.  Pictures coming soon. 

About to spend a nice weekend with family at a cabin/lake in New Braunfels!  Yeah!

SOME BEFORE AND AFTERS ABOUT OUR LAWN

looking back at old photo's-
(this backyard was 99% weeds - no grass at all!)
so it was obvious we had to put new grass in-
we really had no lawn-
also, you can see the old shrubs and the old 6 ft. fence-
this view is looking at the left side of my backyard











this is after all the grass was dug up and
brand new grass was put down - has lots of yellow spots - shrugs are gone-
and underlying weeds from previous photos started to grow into this grass next few months









after a 99% weed lawn and a new lawn put in with lots of underlying weeds that eventually grew out - we were able to get rid of all the weeds and have a green lawn in early spring - this is why we do it
some landscaping- and new lateral 8 ft fence

- now I just have to pick up more dog crap

Grass greener on the other side?

Now, how am I gonna make this interesting? Unlikely. Probably not gonna do it. But it's an interest of Michelle and myself, so guess that's what people blog about. Originally, our interests in home decorations and home design led to landscaping which led to grass maintenance and care. We are DIY and HGTV whores!

BEWARE - I HAVE NO INTENT OF BEING FUNNY OR ANYTHING CLOSE TO IT - REFRAIN FROM READING THIS UNLESS YOU ARE TAKING A DUMP OR SOMETHING AND HAVE NOTHING BETTER TO DO! AND EVEN THAT, I SUGGEST YOU JUST CRAP IN PEACE. SERIOUSLY... NO, NO, SERIOUSLY! This is strictly about lawn and how I got to be interested about it. And this is probably the record for the longest article about grass unless you are the type to frequent the grassspecialists.com (which we do).















[I drove by Stonegate Lofts today (3 years after we moved out)- landscape is pretty drabby outside the condo walls and inside it as well (where is the landscaping we left it with?) That is a part of the enclosure we built- on the right you can see the sliding wooden gate- we also built the outside parking for visitors]


It started off 7 years ago. In 2004, because of the lack of a good management group, I took over as the President of my HOA association (which is a.k.a. - onsite maintenance man- Mr. Furley from three's company) in my 12 unit Townhouse/condo Complex. Actually, I am not even Mr Furley... I am Mr. Fooly (bc at least he was paid accordingly or had discounted rent). It was a new construction, so I took over the role from the builder who asked if I could please do it. I think he asked us because we were there at the condo literally every single day it was being built (Seriously). Think he thought we gave a damn about the place. That builder was cool because this was not a custom home, and he let us upgrade and change a bunch of stuff just like a custom home adding the difference in upgrade labor and giving us credit for materials that would have gone in. So, our unit was very unique compared to the other eleven. When we eventually moved and settled in and looked into it, we found out how poorly mismanaged it was by the pre-selected management group that the builder chose. I found out our fees were being embezzled from the management group! The guy in that group tried to hide it into some made up expenses. That ass thought he could get away with it? Not from us! Basically, months after we moved in, and the condo's all filled up, I saw that the numbers did not add up, so I took the job as Mr "Fooly" to run this condo properly and do something about the condo's financial woes (it actually is a non-paid un-gratifying position) and subsequently released the shady management group and hired a respectable one. You see, the 12 units generated over $2000 per month and $700 should have been extra after each month. After a year, we had only $1000. I said what the heck? ( I actually said various other four letters words I would rather not repeat) Eventually we were able to recover a few thousand from him after many many meetings. Anyhow, long story short, we hired a respectable management group. To save money for the condo, Michelle and I hired cheap labor to put down plants that we selected. (you know... the guys at Home Depots waiting for work - they actually are not cheap, but cheap compared to what landscapers cost) As you may or may not know, landscaping is very pricy, so just having half a knack for it saves tons of money. For example, for a small group of condo units, what we could do for $2000 worth of plants and cheap labor would cost about $7,000 and a couple hundred each month to maintain from an average landscaping company. The truth of the matter is that it really added value to the property and simply is just fun to look at. Michelle already had a green thumb from working the yard at her parents house for many years. That family works hard yo! Our family? Not so much. (in terms of helping out with parents garden and such) I remember on Christmas day at Michelle's parents house, several of us built an extensive deck. Whoa... I was like, for realz, on Christmas? Don't we have a family football match or something fun scheduled instead? All in all, Michelle's parents are the sweetest and they are always super appreciative of everything that we do and it proved to be more than worth it to make them happy. Why did I even mention this? I give you this example because Michelle's family work like crazy on their landscaping - just to show you the difference it is from them to us. So, for me and landscaping? NO CLUE! I had no experience whatsoever! I became interested and learned from her eye and she let me take charge of choosing plants and such for Stonegate lofts (condo). I order most of the plants and such myself. It was neat to see it go down and add life to the property. We had to keep it modern and clean to match the building. Landscaping is no big deal really, all homeowner should give it a shot if they have not already... What did I learn? I learned that to keep it modern, just buy lots of similar plants and place a bunch of them in the same area in a neat orderly fashion. The more variation in plants, the less modern. Do not add too much color for modern styles. Adding more color is more of a country feel. (which I incidentally have grown an appreciation for recently). Just follow that rule and buy the plants that you like and you are well on your way.

Later, we had to add a proper sprinkler system. Learning how to maintenance it saved the condo mucho moola. Our biggest contribution was getting approval for a loan for the loft and managing the construction of a walled stucco enclosure with two nifty wooden sliding motorized gates. That was a big undertaking that I wondered many times why I was giving up about 100 hours for free. After the completion of everything, we felt very good. But that was just the beginning of it; because on any given day, we maintained the sprinkler settings, put down a doggy area with a poop bag station (picked up everyone's dogs's poop-we later paid a little more for the lawnman to pick it up), self watered grass in dry areas, replaced external lights, fixed the motor on the gates on a monthly basis, added landscape lighting, etc etc. All in all, they were freakin lucky to have us, and I must repeat - we did it all for FREE! It was like we owned less than 2000 square feet of property but maintained over 20,000.

Needless to say, after Hayden was born, we could not wait to leave the condo and move to a house. We loved the condo; just not all the work WE had to do. Why else? Several reasons- But related to this passage, it's because the other tenants, which did nothing, benefited from all of our hard work. I felt like I was an "on property" maintenance man. Seriously! For the neighbors who were nice and appreciative, I was happy to help. But for the other tenants, adios!!! Now, it's so much more rewarding because everything we improved upon is directly for us! And... we did not have to hear others complain when they did nothing at all nor did they go to the meetings to voice their concerns. I really do not expect many to go to a dumb HOA meeting, but if you do not, you do not get to complain and decide. Hello! We signed up for this because the place would have turned to shit otherwise. We helped our property value but we helped the other 11 properties just as much. Especially when we added the enclosure, it gave the property a good amount more value. When we had to sell the condo, it sold within one week.



[the picture below are steps to our water fountains in the backyard to our current house - we did this because a nice lawn is just lush and brings calmness to me]

David was wondering why we had to grow grass and why the house didn't come with grass? I thought that was a fair question but pretty funny all in the same. Michelle researched the hell out of grass and all things related. She is like a google mad scientist. This is how we got so involved with grass. I wanted a different grass and thought it was cool to have "golf grass" at home. It kinda worked out because the normal lawn seen in most Texas homes (St. Augustine) was in our home as well, but it was patchy and had a lot of weeds. In addition, we added a complete sprinkler system, so the grass was messed up even more from that digging and destruction. So, we got rid of all the grass by digging up about 6 inches deep of all the lawn and just simply bought new sod online that was called Bermuda grass. (By the way, I was too lazy to do it myself so we hired those Westpark and Home Depot people who wait outside. We still save a crapload of money instead of hiring a professional landscaper. But this is typically how I role. Point here and there and direct where the workers should dig. What can I say? There is no love in digging holes in the ground for me) If you do not already know, Bermuda is the thinner blade you normally see on outdoor sports fields such as football, baseball, golf, etc. It is just a preference and I like it because I played so much golf and its just pretty. It costs just a little more and it is only a tad harder to maintain. Both have weeds and such all the same.



[I would roll around in my lawn - except for the hidden dog crap]
Weeds... that's another subject all in itself. But thanks to the diligence of my crazy busybody wife, she would pick out each weed hand by hand. I also picked out more weed in a few weeks than I ever have done in my whole life. The unhinged part about those unwanted growths is not the standard weed but is actually unwanted clovers. If you do not nip it in the bud (literally) clovers will spread exponentially. To make matters worse, clovers have fragile thin stems with huge thick roots. This translates into the inability to pull it up properly because they would break at the stem before you get to the root system to kill it. (the weed killer sprays barely touch this manifestation at all) You must literally dig up the clover with a hand shovel one by one down to its roots (which looks like mini beets). The sooner you do it, the less havoc. Think we shoveled up nearly 1000 holes (mostly Michelle). We had the lawn perfect and pretty pristine and was happy with it for about a year. As we rode our bikes in the neighborhood during winter time, we noticed that a Bermuda (golf grass) home owners had green grass when all else were yellow. We were baffled. How could this be? Bermuda is prettier but it turns brown in the winter because it is dormant at that time. St. Augustine can stay semi-green because it can withstand more of a widespread temperature variation. After more research, we found out that those people had "Rye" grass in the winter. The trick is this... Grow Bermuda year round and come Autumn, put down "Rye" grass seeds (inexpensive) and water on a heightened schedule. Than the "Rye" will overpower the Bermuda and your grass will be super green even on New Year's Eve! But... (and a big but) Now that it is Spring, you have to kill the Rye grass to let the Bermuda grow strong again. This is where we are at right now. We are unsure what method we will choose, but sure we will learn from our mistakes. After reading this, it does sound rather cumbersome to manage grass. Why do it? I guess the same reason why people read, or watch sports... because they enjoy it or enjoy the fruits of their labor. So.... I hope I answered your question David. Though houses do often times come with grass, it sometimes needs a change to match the owner. Not any different than upgrading appliances or changing hardware. We have so many more plans for this little humble abode. I will try to add some pictures with this blog.



<----- Rye Grass (full & green bc not hot yet)


Bermuda (starting to grow - still yellow) ---->






All of the pictures were taken today- cannot really tell the color because of the sun- hope its even greener in the next few weeks








<----- sneak peak of Michelle's new unfinished succulant rock gardens she was working on today - I like it!












I wrote so much... it is an accomplishment if you got to this point. I must admit that it is a bit cathartic to write, but this length is a bit too time consuming- and... really.... much ado about nothing... as fun as it was, think I will write less next time.



_______________________________________________________________

Grass greener on the other side?
Nope! It is just as green over here.






______________________________________________________________

Time for "Blamily" (or "Fog")

I have toured the Facebook circuit for a while and I am going back to family blogging. It's just not as rewarding or detailed on that Facebook circuit. It has more of an express feedback and reward system but the gratification is minute and fleeting. It was after reading David's blogs that pushed me over the edge to come back and that I grew to appreciate and understand how gleeful I became wanting more and more of his blogs hoping that it would not end. I felt like I was watching my Netflix shows as I always do... happy to see one episode after another after another and so forth - hoping there would always be more... kind of like how the Vietnamese film Chuong (Asian soap operas) run back to back to back on their VHS tapes back in the 80's. You guys remember those self rewinding machines that the sole purpose was to rewind the VHS tape for the rental stores? Its sole and only purpose was to prevent the viewer from wasting time of rewinding on their regular machine so they can spend more time watching the next episode instead of rewinding the previous episodes.
Yes, I read four of David's blogs all together and it ended for now. But, it leaves more of a soothing long-lasting taste that I can savor and digest. I do not mind waiting for another one so much anymore. I think I will wait a few weeks to read several all at once. Honestly, if David wrote a book, I would breeze through his book and read it continuously. It flows so well and he articulates things in a way anyone can relate to.
As for Facebook... Yes, I am getting a little bored of the less 3 (<3) and the ;) and the lol's and such. I was getting sucked in and started to forget how to write properly (as if I ever could write well anyhow). To add to that, I kept reading the other wonderful blogs. Such as how nifty Madison was and her missed spelling bee word (suspicious). Or Mel's touching last day subbing and what she meant to the kids. Or Michelle's different viewpoints of the same thing. Or the daily ins and outs of my precious godson! (and that "funny face" is freaking insanely hilarious). Or Chi Thu's preferences on people and shows and fashion. And Jimmy's accidental dad was just so cute - posted so many but I have to say the last one I saw was A day with Andrew ( and his car knowledge). And of course..... I gotta pay homage to the creator and starter of this blog frenzy - Without Chi Tram's blogs, I would not know Paulina and Nick nearly as well as I do. Thanks-
(Also, I have to read the other cuz's too, but I catch Anh Vinh, Amanda, Hai and such on Facebook often so I get alot of their lives on Facebook).
So what is going on with our life from my perspective? Its pretty typical family stuff, but in case it isn't and there are some interesting quirks, I will write about it regardless. Hell, even if it is mundane, I will write about it for you guys anyhow. If I happen to have a few cool words to sound more interesting, than I will include it, but I will not look up synonyms or a thesaurus to pretend and be smart or something. It is tough to refrain from trying to write eloquently because I do have so many English connoisseur's in this household. But I digress....
I talk about Hayden all the time so let us change this first subject. First subject?
I just wrote a crapload but I do not want to bore so I deleted it- seriously -



no pictures to share - no proofreading today - tired and not fun to write anymore - next blog will be about growing grass in the summer and winter time.
just kidding of course-

(probably about new exercise regiment, Hayden quirks, fun outings, or home renovations)


by the way, the silly title "blamily" or "fog" is a combination of the "bl" from blog into the word "family" and the reverse combo in case it was too lame to be worthy of being funny

Blogging is great, but...

I have a pretty healthy supply of updated on my Facebook. Please see Michelle's blogs for updates and see "steve nguyen" on Facebook for my frequent daily updates- As Captain Jean-luc Pacard would say on Star Trek... Resistance is futile!

Been blogged out

I would blog more, but my wife beats me to it. If I have blogs different from my wife I will do so. Hehe- please go to michelle's blogs for current info. Hehe

music is beautiful

i have been following some exceptional new Asian actors and artist that have sprung up from California. They started off from a pretty grassroots system mostly from youtube. One particular singer is not Mr good looking or anything but his voice is really nice. He is an Asian fella with a great voice with a hint of a southern twang (David Choi). I saw some of his youtube videos and... well, it lead me to Kina Grannis and a beautiful song I want to share with you guys. It just reminds me of a pure and simple love that I have. It is the love that I have for Michelle... way, way before Hayden came into the picture. I think about Hayden so much, that sometimes I forget how special his mom is. The song is called Valentine and here is the link to the cute video.

(you gotta copy and paste it bc it doesn't click for some reason)

http://www.youtube.com/user/kinagrannis

I am gonna surprise her with this song and a rose(hong) and dinner tomorrow. If I could sing, (which I cannot) I would sing it for her. She is probably gonna think I am corny tomorrow, but that's ok.

Bored at my own poker game

Hosting a friendly game and too many guest... No seat for me.

Thank god for slingbox.

The Rachel Zoe Project.

Melissa Nguyen

quote of the day... well it really is not a quote but it was funny and you can hear her wit!










them: complain complain complain

me: explain explain explain

them: Yeah I completely understand... but... complain complain complain

Bitches.

___________________________________

that's hillarious!

My wife is funny - Lionfish incident - Accurate version

By the way, read her version first on her blogspot site,

http://michellenguyen17.blogspot.com/

than read the accurate version. I am kidding. Her version was pretty accurate too (except for the fact that there were things that i never said and she conjected them in as if i said them), but this is from a different prospective. I gotta admit, her version was pretty funny though. Afterwards, we looked back and were glad it was not a big deal and can laugh at it.

I was in so much pain.... it felt like 2 nails stuck in each finger and it was on a hot frying pan. I was most concerned that the venom was going to cause some long term damage to my nervous system like a rattle snake bite or something. She looked up some sites and I asked her to call several local fish shops - We found out that it was rarely fatal and was reassured of it. (Though it was one of the most venomous fishes in the sea)

Next step. How do I get rid of this pain and how long will it last? She found out that I should put my hand in hot water so some of the venom would stay localized. So I did it. It made it hurt even more. She did good with her calls that I asked her to make and she even made some extra calls for me. After she knew it was not fatal she thought she was done. I was still in 10/10 pain! I could not even walk or move from my position. I hardly ever take any tylenol or advil. Maybe 2-3x past 10 years. I asked for some. Remember, I was in a crapload of pain and then I had to soak my damn hand in HOT water too? She did not get any meds for me right away. She started picking up some laundry and clothing. (Granted it was just 1 - 2 pieces - but still!

I screamed - "what the hell are you doing cleaning? Where is my advil or tylenol?" The funny thing is that I knew I was mean at the time, but I did not care because I was hurting so much. I even envisioned myself as if I was pregnant and how i would react to it. I would be a crazy bitch probably screaming, " where the hell is my epidural; I want it not tomorrow but yesterday!"

I was stung for about 30 minutes now (felt like 2 hours), I was still in 10/10 pain. We read that it lasts for about 3 hours. I was like.... "go upstairs and get the money - lets go to the ER (we have a local minor ER nearby) - this hurts too much!" She added all that other stuff like, use our life savings, i don't care how much it is gonna cost, etc etc - and such because that is her coocoo mind overactive - but it was funny thou.

After we arrived to the minor ER, my pain was still intolerable, but it dropped to an 8-9/10. I felt like it would eventually go away. And because of this newly found hope, I mentally was relaxed now. I was thinkin that I was not gonna get the meds from the ER to save money. I was at peace now. Michelle was taking pictures and this and that so she could post it online, but I was cool now. Doc said he needed Xrays, and a morphine shot. Morphine shot? Wow... he said he read up on it and that he knew it hurt. I declined the xrays bc that was stupid - It was purely for money. However, I did get the shot. It was $300 bucks for the ER visit and shot! I almost didnt because I saw hope in the pain lessening, but I had to because I was hosting a game and was late for my own game. There was no way I could host it if I didnt get a shot. I asked Michelle to drive me to our game. So the shot allowed me to host the game and we more than recovered the $300. As jovial and funny it was at the ER, it was hell at home with the pain.

By the way, The morphine shot did not even work (maybe 20%). Pain started at 7:15 pm and went to a 5/10 pain at 10:30.

Here is a link on the Lionfish. I did not cook him up or anything. I was not even mad at the fish. It was my dumb fault. He didnt attack me or anything. But not getting the meds for me was unforgivable! hehehe... kidding... I love my wife.


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Lionfish are quite eye catching with their long showy fins and intricate red and white stripe patterns. But as beautiful and delicate as those fins may appear, be warned that they are covered with venomous spines that can deliver a painful sting!

Although usually not deadly some people have had quite an adverse reaction to their poison and require emergency medical attention.

http://www.tropicalfish.at/saltwater/lion/lionfish.html

The lionfish is one of the most venomous fish on the ocean bottom floor. Lionfish have venomous dorsal spines that are used purely for defense. When threatened, the fish often faces its attacker in a head-down posture which brings its spines to bear.

However, a lionfish's sting is usually not fatal to humans. If a human is envenomed, that person will experience extreme pain, and possibly headaches, vomiting, and breathing difficulties.

A common treatment is soaking the afflicted area in hot water, as very few hospitals carry specific treatments. However, immediate emergency medical treatment is still advised, as some people are more susceptible to the venom than others.

- NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) encourages everyone (divers and fishers) to be extremely cautious and avoid contact with the venomous spines of the lionfish. Although they are not deadly, they are very painful.

The lionfish is also known as the Turkey Fish, Dragon Fish, Scorpion or Fire Fish. They are notable for their extremely long and separated spines, and have a generally striped appearance, red, brown, orange, yellow, black, maroon, or white.

- The lionfish is native to the tropical Indo-Pacific region of the world, but various species can be found worldwide. Due to a recent introduction, the lionfish has recently been spotted in the warmer coral regions of the Eastern Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea.

Lionfish are an invasive species in the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea regions. Successful breeding of the lionfish in captivity has not been reported. In early 2009, the Lionfish was spotted in the Florida Keys, seemingly increasing its range. They have also spread throughout the Bahamas in the process decimating indigenous reef fish


Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lionfish

Pool Party for Hayden

Here are some pictures from the pool party. It looked like peeps had fun. We had a lot of fun as well. We tried to compress all the joy in the time the pool was open to us and only us. No outsiders! hehehe I love seeing all the things the kids enjoyed - there was a lil wall climbing, lilly pad jumping, and water splashing off the diveboard. But most of all - I love the cute picture of Luke smiling in the middle of the pool. That was priceless. Oh yeah... Hayden had fun too.