Like Father, Like Sons

I've never really been drawn to candy or chocolate BUT...I have a huge weak spot for chocolate milk. I think I have the "propensity to be addicted to chocolate milk" gene and I'm afraid it's been passed onto the boys....


These guys can finish most of the glass without coming up for air. That is unless any (or all) of the following take place:

1. fighting over the spoon
2. flicking the straws and milk at each other (complete with Matrix-style slow motion action while they duck out of the way of the flying milk)
   
3. stare down (accompanied by John Wayne western soundtrack in the background)
4. screaming at the top of their lungs while facing off sumo-wrestler style (most entertaining when wearing only diapers)
   
5. all out Ultimate Fighter ground fighting (complete with fenced in baby-gate ring)
1. At this point Rachel will usually jump in the middle to referee the match
   
2. Whichever parent is present will glance over at the chaos, shrug shoulders, and finish chores

The end result is usually the same....A lot of crying over spilled milk.

Kid Math - Part 1

A few weeks back we took the kids to Natural Bridges State Beach with hopes of seeing some of the Monarch Butterflies that migrate there each year. We brought Rachel's good friend Rebecca along too. I've always had a habit of observing people and my surroundings so I began to notice the reaction of people as they walked by us:

First glance: Cordial eye contact followed by polite smile

Second glance: Eyes travel down to twins sitting in stroller, smile remains (but they're thinking, "how cute....you must have your hands full")

Third glance: Eyes travel to Rachel and Rebecca, smile disappears, look of shock on their face..."you have two sets of twins!??!?...What were you thinking? Are you out of your mind?"

After explaining that Rebecca was just a friend of Rachel's but only two months apart, people would walk away shaking their heads. We had interactions like these with just about everyone we walked by.

Before I get into the math part I should probably confess that I BARELY passed geometry in high school and (true story) made a deal with my Math Analysis teacher to pass me as long as I didn't cut class and showed up everyday. Now you know why I never became a doctor, engineer, or rocket scientist. With that being said, here's my math theory with kids:

2 + 1 + 1 = 2

I know...it's profound but it makes complete sense to me. Here's the translation: 2 (Nathan & Daniel) + 1 (Rachel) + 1 (Rebecca) = 2....only having to take care of 2 kids. Yvonne and I have found that bringing a friend of Rachel's along actually makes things much easier. Rachel doesn't get bored, has a blast playing with her friend, and the parents are much happier and relaxed. It's like they cancel each other out.


By the way, the math teacher honored the deal and passed me.

Bottoms Up!

Yes, that would be our daughter slamming back her drink while the rest of her friends are carefully having tea time...

Oops

This collage started out as an experiment while playing around with Picasa. It turned out okay so I ordered an enlargement, framed it, and surprised Yvonne with it on her birthday. The only problem, as Yvonne kindly revealed to me, was I had made a minor mistake in identifying one of our boys so one of them has more photos than the other. At first I didn't think that was possible since I spent quite of bit of time making sure I had equal representation of all of our kids (and I usually do pretty good telling our guys apart). To date, I don't think Yvonne has ever confused them (for that matter, she can easily distinguish their voices, cries, etc). Oops.

Oh well, see if you can tell the difference.

...Zone Defense - Part 2

The prior post would imply that we're largely successful in corralling our flock of kids. For the most part, I'd like to think we do a decent job. There are, however, a few holes in our defense every now and then.

I'm reminded of one such occasion in our kitchen where Nathan put on his game face (you know, the giant look-at-me-daddy smile) while drinking some milk from a sippy cup. For a reason that will become apparent in a few seconds, he looks at me and then throws his cup. The lid explodes and milk goes everywhere. As I'm frantically trying to find the nearest tissue box (we have them strategically placed EVERYWHERE in the house) I see a blur go by me but don't pay much attention as I try to clean up the milk that's on the floor (Nathan still has his "game face" on). Just as I'm about finished, I hear Daniel behind me: "Uh-oh....UH OH....UH OHH!!!!!" No, Daniel didn't have an accident, he simply picked up Kilo's water dish and poured it all over our hallway. He likes to say "uh oh" a lot...especially when he's the one who causes the "uh oh".

Analysis: After all of the cleanup was finished I had a minute to reflect on things. I was basically a victim of a well executed screen play. Nathan got me focused on him and his little mishap. After seeing my attention was diverted, Daniel made a beeline to the water bowl to complete the play and score the goal. I had to admit: That was nicely done...

If you've been to our house lately you've probably seen the abundance of baby gates everywhere you look. Now you know why.

Switching to Zone Defense - Part 1

In football or basketball, you have a choice to use a "man on man" defense or "zone" defense. The first option is exactly what it sounds like. Each defender picks a player and sticks with them no matter where they go on the playing field. The second option requires a little more defensive coordination but correctly done, can be equally, if not better at covering players.

When Rachel went mobile and started walking, Yvonne and I could easily go with either defensive option because the parent-to-child ratio was 2:1. As a firstborn child, she was never out of our sight and wouldn't be further than an arms reach away.

The boys however were a different story. When they came along, the grown-ups were officially outnumbered. Now that the boys are walking, they find no pleasure in sticking together (no...that would be too easy for us). Instead, they almost always venture off in opposite directions.

Take a close look at this picture taken at the Stanford Shopping Center. It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words.... this is what I see when I look at the photo:

• You can't really see it in the photo but Nathan (on the right) is peering through the bars and contemplating how he can get into the water on the other side.
  
• Seeing that I'm focused on taking a picture of Nathan, Daniel takes off in a sprint (Yvonne was on the other side of the planter box getting Rachel situated in a stroller)
• The relaxed (probably child-less) couple approaching Daniel are likely on a nice stroll through the mall without a care in the world. They're probably thinking, "Aww, look at this kid stumbling towards us....Where are his parents? Is he alone? How irresponsible of the parents to just let the kid wander off....can't they control him? Maybe we should call the police."
  
• At this point I shoot Yvonne a one-second look that basically says, "We got a runner, you have Nathan and Rachel, I'm going after Daniel." Or, in defensive talk, "Shift your zone coverage over here because I'm breaking cover to go after the runner..."
• I finally catch up to Daniel, scoop him up, and give a polite smile to the couple. They look at me and are probably thinking, "When we have kids, we'll never be irresponsible and let them take off like that..."

Here's the kicker: This is just about a daily occurrence for us.

So it begins...

When Rachel was born, I meant to start some sort of journal to capture the fun and excitement of raising a child. There were far too many times when she would say or do something which "just had to be written down" but I must confess that I fell prey to the daily hustle and bustle of parenting and never got around to it. Now, 4 1/2 years later, to say I'm "a little behind" is understating that fact. Rachel is now a VERY talkative pre-schooler with a strong personality, very much into the whole "Princess" thing, and a great older sister (well...most of the time).

Nathan and Daniel just turned 16 months old and as parents, I think we we can now make out the light at the end of the tunnel (although a coworker who has twins reminds me that the "tunnel" doesn't really end...it just keeps turning and twisting...).

Thus, this blog is a belated attempt to capture the fun, head-shaking, unbelievable, you-gotta-see-this, times of the wild Hsiung family adventures. As time and memory permits, I'll try to flash back over certain vivid memories to fill in the 4 1/2 years I've lost already...