Seattle Aquarium

Matt & I discussed some options for getting out of the house this weekend. We planned on tackling the Seattle Zoo in Woodland, but on our way out to the van the kids decided they wanted to go to the aquarium instead. We were adamant about going to the zoo since it was a beautiful day for an outside romp. They were finally able to bribe us with lots of key phrases, like: " I Love You Lots, Mom & Dad" as we neared Seattle. So, we veered off to the seafront where the aquarium was located.

We decided to purchase an annual family membership to the Aquarium instead of paying for a day tour. Though it was more costly than the day ticket it was cheaper than paying for two days. Besides, we figured we would be more apt to take the kids up there if we had a year long membership and the only additional costs would be gas (which could add up) and parking. But, it's a great way to get out of the house, get out of the area, and get the kids interacting with other people (to help improve their socialization skills).

Needless to say, our journey through the aquarium was fun. The kids had such a blast and Matt I had fun, too. M's favorite part was the dome at the end of the walk (I must agree with him. I could have sat there for several hours watching the fish). C's favorite part was the Touching Pools. She really enjoys interacting as much as possible, while M wants nothing to do with it. He won't even touch the starfish.

There were lots of things to see, especially in the dome, including salmon of all ages, sturgeon, rockfish, some small grouper, a few small black sharks and a myriad of other species of fish. It was very cool to see the view from below the fish in the dome and the seal and otter habitats. They had several Harbor Seals and Northern Fur Seals as well as both River and Sea Otters. We spent almost 3 hours at the aquarium and will coordinate our trip next time to coincide with the feeding time (1:30pm) in the dome.

I've decided that I may want a job in the tanks as a diver!!! The sharks are tiny (I know they'll grow, but not before I move away) and the visibility is fantastic. I do have my Open Water SCUBA, but I have a fear of not being able to see what is coming at me so I like my visibility to be very lengthy!!! I wanna have ample time to panic when I see a Tiger Shark barreling towards me with a neon sign that says "I'm Home For Diner!"

After we left the Aquarium we walked along the warf for a ways, stopping at the amuzement section where the kids, with Matt & I holding them, rode the Mery-Go-Round. M was terrified of the Merry-Go-Round and wanted to sit on a bench. But, because Matt & I didn't have to pay because we were going to stand with the kids and hold them we made M ride one of the moving figures. He REALLY didn't want to do it, but Matt sat him on a horse right next to his sister with me standing in between both kids. I, of course, got so sick from the constant turning, though I finally figured out that I could look at the floor of the Merry-Go-Round and not be so motion sick. I was very thankful when the thing stopped.

We then went to the Pirate Store (the same one we went with Mom & Dad to last year). The kids each got 1 thing for under $10. C chose a yellow hat while M chose a glow-in-the-dark skeleton pirate set. As we speak, he and his daddy are in M's room playing "Pirate".

Needless to say, we all had a blast!!!

Talking In Her Sleep

Children are simply too cute when they talk in their sleep. But, when that child is deaf it can be even cuter:

Every night I tuck the kids' blankets safely around their precious little bodies and whisper "I love you" softly into their ears before heading off to bed.

Sometimes M will answer me and at other times he mumbles some jargon that is inrecognizable. C, on the other hand, barely moves a muscle. The moment she falls asleep her little body seems to go into a comatose state as she drifts deep into her dreams. And since she is profoundly deaf her reaction is totally understandable.

This evening, though, I got a bit of a shock. As I pulled the blankets up to her chest (any higher than that and she starts squirming as if she were a worm desperately looking for a new tunnel to wiggle through in order to remove each and every blanket) C rolled onto her side and began "talking" in her sleep. I must say, it was rather adorable since her form of talking is Sign Language. Unfortunately, she was signing as she was twisting around and the only part of her conversation I caught was "all done"! Now I'm going to have to start paying closer attention to her hands as I'm covering her up!!!

The Latest News On China's Earthquake/Aftershocks

The sheer number and size of aftershocks that seem to be continuously hitting the area are amazing. Hanzhong City has been hit with sizeable aftershocks fairly regularly, according to Chinese news organizations, with a 5.7m quakes just three weeks ago. And, according to Thaindian News, an online newspaper, there was another aftershock yesterday near Hanzhong (my daughter's orphanage).

Here is the article (and a link) dated June 18, 2008:

http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/world-news/two-killed-as-moderate-quake-shakes-northwest-china_10061468.html

"Xi’an (China), June 18 (Xinhua) Two people were killed and one injured when an aftershock measuring 4.5 on the Richter scale hit northwest China’s Shaanxi province Tuesday, officials said Wednesday. According to the authorities, the quake hit the Ningqiang county Tuesday afternoon, destroying several houses and killing two people.

The injured was shifted to a nearby hospital, the earthquake relief headquarters at Hanzhong city said.

Shaanxi province was badly affected by the May 12 killer earthquake that left a trail of devastation in the province and its neighbour Sichuan province.

According to the latest official figures, the death toll from the May 12 earthquake has reached 69,172 with another 17,420 still missing as of Tuesday.

Meanwhile, heavy rain continues to cause havoc in Sichuan province forcing authorities to shift about 110,000 people to safe places out of fear of flooding and landslides.

About 50,000 people in Wenchuan county, the epicentre of the May 12 quake, have also been relocated at safer places."

Kiss My Taters

As I was working online (okay, more like I was playing online since I was visiting my Yahoo! groups) M came into my "office" (a small section of my bedroom) for some morning lovin'. He dove into my lap and, after wrapping his arms around my neck, began to give me a humungous hug. Then he asked for kisses:

"Kiss my toungue, Mom."

At this comment I leaned away from him and, with my nostrils flaring with the idea of such a gross act, I exclaimed, "No way, son! That's disgusting!"

"Fine... Kiss my eyeballs." At this, M closed his eyes and pointed to each lid before replacing his arms back around my neck. I leaned down and gave both of his "eyeballs" a kiss.

"Kiss my nose!" I puckered up and gave the bridge of his nose a soft kiss. By this time, I was beginning to get into the spirit of kissing my son on the precious little parts of his adorable face. His next request threw that desire out the window, though...

"Kiss my taters, Mom!!!" As I watched with a quizzical look on my face M released his grip from around my neck and, placing a finger on each side of his ear, stretched his ear canal open a bit so that I could get my lips coser to his "Taters" (that crud that every mom calls a potato field).

Gross!!!

Happy Father's Day

Today was a beautiful day here in the Pacific Northwest. Surprisingly, it was over 70 degrees and clear. This was the second time it reached past 65 this month. I'd love it if summer were to get just a tad bit warmer. Since we don't have a/c, too hot means I'll be miserable by the end of summer. Hopefully, it won't get too hot, though. Needless to say... Today was lovely. Even with the beautiful weather we still stayed indoors and snoozed all day. It was exactly what Matt had hoped for on his special Daddy's Day. I've added this photo of my sweeties to show you exactly what we did all day. That is... Till around 7:00pm when Daddy decided he wanted to show C how to box while M was showering, which she absolutely loved!!! I've attached a small video of their little sparring match. C needed some kind of help to reach Daddy, so my poor bed took a beating (along with Daddy)!!!

Pregnant By Kraft Cheese

This afternoon M, C and I sat down to watch Animal Planet's Growing Up "Lion". It is a very cute program and is one that I will often use as part of M's Science education for his homebased education lessons.

As usual, the program was littered with commercials for a variety of products. One commercial stood out for all of us, though...

Kraft produced a commercial for their cheese slices. The commercial was cute in general, but M really enjoyed it. In fact, he put his own interpretation on the commercial and I wanted to share that today:

A young woman is standing in profile on a daily calendar (the kind of calendar that allows you to tear off a page as each day goes by). She is slim, pretty, and healthy. The bottom of the calendar reads "You are pregnant." The lady begins eating her Kraft grilled cheese sandwich and as the days fly off the calendar her belly begins to protrude with the growth of her baby. By the time the baby seems to be full term the sandwich is gone and Mom is cradling her tummy with baby safely inside.

As I said, the commercial was rather cute; but M's take was simply adorable! As the commercial closed, M started excitedly exclaiming: "That lady make her own baby by herself with food!!!!"

I had to obligingly replay the commercial so M could show and explain how the lady used the sandwich to impregnate herself!!!

C just stared at us as if we were crazy, even with the numerous explanations!

Speak English!!!

"Mommy, I sorry for not listening to you on the phone today," expressed my sorrowful five-year-old son, M. He had been playing Disney Games on the computer and I was being lazy. It was time for him to turn the computer off and I really didn't feel like getting up off my bottom to climb the stairs to issue my instructions.

So, what did I do? I used Matt's cell phone to call our home phone. M likes to answer the phone and regularly answers the phone on the first ring, so I knew it would be a simple process to "call my son" down for dinner.

Ring. Yep, one ring was all it took before I heard his cute little voice say, "Hello? Who's there." As usual, there was no pause between each phrase. But, that's okay... He sure does a good job.

So, I told M, "It's Mommy. Turn off the computer and come down stairs, okay?"

"Oh. It's you. Who you talking to?"

"You, Son. Now..." Click! The little devil hung up on me!!!

Ring. "Hello? Who's there?"

"M, don't you dare hang up again. Turn off the computer and get your bottom down here, NOW!"

"Okay... Gosh, Mommy!"

Does he come down? Nope... M decided he didn't want to listen and so went back to my desk and his computer game. So, I marched up the stairs, turned off the computer, and marched a crying M back down the stairs and proceeded to lay into him about following directions and using his listening skills. The poor kid was crying like crazy and telling me he didn't understand what I was saying on the phone.

Needless to say, we got that taken care of and it will (hopefully) not happen again. But, what does M tell me this evening?

"Mommy, I sorry for not listening to you on the phone today. But, you need to speak English. I not understand you!"

Hmmm.... Guess I may need to go to speech therapy, too!!! ;)