Ordinary Miracles - Life's moments shared with my kids

Thomas' First Audition

2009-11-03T12:15:00.000-05:00

Thomas passed his first try at an audition on 10/26.

Thomas started to learn piano with Ms. Shen, a Suzuki piano teacher in June of 08. After about a year, it became very clear that he was talented at it. I then started to look for a teacher that could take him up another level. I went through a couple of them before we started working with Ms. Luba, a Russian-trained piano teacher in the middle of August.

Ms. Luba made it clear that she would push all her student to try at various recital opportunities. But she was not very keen to let him go to began with for the Jazz n' Light competition in Oct. She felt they just started working together about six week ago. She was not happy with the way Thomas played the piece at the audition deadline. But Thomas insisted that he wanted to try the audition. He got very excited about it. So I pleaded for him. Ms. Luba very reluctantly sent in his application. At the last lesson before the class, she was still not happy with the way he played and wrote a list of things to correct for me to work with him before the audition. She also expressed regret of letting him go since this would reflect on her reputation. So I never had any high hopes, but I did want to encourage Thomas' enthusiasm. It is also very good experience for him. I worked hard with him on Friday and Saturday according to Ms. Luba's notes. Thomas did kept his promise and listened to my instruction really well. He worked very patiently on a couple occasions during those two days in-between his succer, art and other activities. He looked so cute in his suite and dress shoes on Sunday. It was a long drive, but quite scenic. I thought to myself to treat it as a fall outing and just enjoy the ride. Thomas was really relaxed. He was the youngest of a dozen kids who auditioned. He went in by himself. Chatted a little with the judge. Played his piece. Talked with the judge a Little more. When I saw him coming out of the room, he had such a huge smile on his face. He said: "Mommy: I think I passed the audition. The judge said she liked my play". That's more than what I had hoped for already. I was so happy for him.

Then, last Thursday, when we went to his lesson, Ms. Luba told us that he made second place at the audition and will perform on Nov 15th. But the committee wanted me to bring his birth certificate to verify his age LOL (Thomas, at seven and three months old, weighs 90 lbs and was 1.42 meters tall). It was such a happy surprise for me. Now the hard part: he will participate in the audition in Dec. If he passes that one, he will perform at Carnegie Hall. I try very hard not to get my hope up this time!! Here is the link to the recital on Nov 15th.

http://crescendofestivals.org/Festivals/jazz.html#

Forms, forms, forms

2009-06-30T22:57:00.002-04:00

I took Thomas and Tyler to the vacation bible school offered by the church down the street from our house. There were two registration forms to fill out, one for each of them. As I started the one for Tyler, Thomas asked that he fill out the one for himself. Knowing what he knows and what he could write, I was not surprised at the request, but a feeling bordering surreality washed over me at that moment: my son, the six-year-old little man was about to embark on the most significant and mundane adult activity for the first time: filling out forms. I was very excited. He took over the writing board with the very first form that I know of (not sure he fill out any in school) that he was going to fill out himself. He actually used cursive!! (Photo will follow) Filling out forms accompanied all significant events of my life, big and small. Very quietly, I witnessed another milestone of my son's growing up.

Tyler's Spring Recital

2009-06-30T19:41:00.004-04:00

Tyler loves to dance and sing. We have been taking classes since she was 18 monthes. Here are the two numbers she danced with her group at the Spring recital. Being the shortest, she was placed at the end of the line. It presented quite some challenges for her already technically challenged mommy. You will see why.

Alice Blue Gown

Sophisticated Baby

Piano: Progress in a Month

2009-06-30T18:51:00.008-04:00

Thomas started learning classical pieces in March. After a couple of months, the piano teacher commented that Thomas was really quick in learning the notes with both hands, but he lacked "musicality". His sense of rhythm was not quite there. He liked to play a piece really really fast because he could!! The teacher said that this may take a while to improve, which caused me much anxiety. Then she added: "At least he was able to play that fast. Many student could not at his age". Well, I took that as a compliment, but it still bothered me to think that Thomas was not making beautiful music. I decided that I needed to inject myself somehow to help him along. I was relieved that Thomas did not only welcome my presence during his practice, he was actually thrilled with the attention. From then on, even a little hint of leaving him alone would motivate him to make changes. I recorded this piece when we first started in May:

This was recorded couple weeks ago. Can you hear the difference?!

Little Teenager

2009-06-30T18:38:00.003-04:00

Thomas will be seven in a little more than two weeks. He complained about his shorts leaving marks on him and requested that I send those shorts to other people (we practice freecycling and pass the kid's clothes on to other families that could use them). I checked these shorts. They are mostly size 8 and 10. I do not know whether I should be happy or sad that I need to buy size 12 clothes for my soon-to-be seven-year old.

Pretty as Peony

2009-06-09T09:23:00.012-04:00

During my fever of owning my first house, I bought a peony plant. I was told that it was very hardy, a variety for the gardening charllenged. It has lived up to its reputation ever since. This year, it came back with by far the biggest flowers.

Well, looks who's got hold of them?

Look who's gotten bunny ears?

I did not know you can also use peonies as cheerleading pom poms and other creative things.
It is so so sweet to have a daughter (sorry for the little bragging).

Good Manners

2009-06-06T21:47:00.003-04:00

Thursday night, I was washing dishes while listening to C-Span radio. It must be something that I ate at dinner that did not agree with me and I was totally engrossed in the radio segments. I felt something "airy" escape me with not-so-subtle an announcement. Thomas, painting at the dinner table next to the kitchen, raised his head and said: "Mommy, that's very impolite. You need to say excuse me when that happens". I blushed and sheepishly said: "Excuse me". "That's good. Look, Mommy. I am teaching you good manners. You need to work on it. Pretty soon you will have really great manners and all your friends will love you". My mouth opened, but no words came out. I shake my head and said: " Yes. Thomas. Thank you". "You are welcome". He did not even raise his head from his art project.

I told myself under my breath: "You should see this coming".

Nightly Dose of Elixure

2009-05-29T14:11:00.004-04:00

I try to pray and talk with my kids before they go to bed every night. For Thomas, it was always short and sweet. Couple tickles while massaging his back. A short pray to God to help him go to Princeton (Honest to God, I did not put this idea into him!!) and practice piano by himself. Then he's set. It's much harder with Tyler. Every night she comes up with little variations on a theme. No matter how subtle, it presents challenge to her routine-adhering mother. It usually starts with my losing patience with her getting-ready-for-bed activities (brushing her teeth a couple times, looking into the mirror and pretending to be a princess, then distracted by the self-attaching tooth brush, then trying the cute tooth brush on her tumbling long hair as a comb, on and on and on and on) that last at least 10 - 15 minutes. When she's finally in bed, we do at least two of several things: massaging her cheeks, massaging her whole body (free tickling included), praying, talking, kissing, hugging, shaking hands, kissing my hand. There is no telling what she is in the mood for on any given night. Then, came the predictable part of the routine: I get up from her bed, close her bed rail, close her closet door, turn on her night lights, turn off her big light and then her closing "arguments" (routine conversations we have before I could be released). By the time she came to that part, I was already pretty much at the far stretched outer limit of my patience, again. After final "Bye Happy, Sweet Bell (substitute for whichever princess that caught her fancy on that day) Tyler", I could go down stairs to my quietness before my bedtime. Last night, after I came down stairs, she called from her room: "Mommy, I have something to tell you". "I was tired. We already said Bye Happy". "Just one more thing. Can you please come up?" I did not have the strength to drag along the night any further. Dragging my feet, I went up. Opening the door, my impatience filled the action. She motioned me to come over to her bed: "Mommy, I want to whisper in your ears". I sigh and then sauntered over and kneeled down. She got up and put her ruby red lips against my ear: "I love you the best in the whole wide world. You are a pretty princess Cinderella mommy." I felt my heart melting like ice cream in the sun. I wrapped my arms around her sweet little body with guilt feeling my heart. “God, can you please give me more patience with my precious little angel of a daughter”?

Map On Demand

2009-05-29T11:16:00.007-04:00

After our weekly piano lesson, I decided to take my kids to YMCA for swimming yesterday. On the way, my son Thomas said he was really hungry and my daughter Tyler chimed in. I guess the star-shaped chicken nuggets were much more attractive than the water slide at the time. But I did not have the address to the closest Berger King. (A little background info: I am hopeless with direction and orientations. It is a miracle that I ever owned a car before GPS). Without an address, even with the miracle of the GPS in my car, there was no way we were going to get there. I called my children's dad. He located my current position and said it would be too much of a challenge to explain to me how to get there (he knew me well). It was not straight-forward, which is pretty much what I can handle as far as driving goes. So, I decided to just go to our local BK. I learned early on to program my home address in the little savior of a GPS.

As I announced that we needed to go home and forget about the YMCA, Thomas called from the back seat: "Mommy, I know how to get to the Burger King. It is on Burnt Mill Rd". Well, admitting that I was lousy with directions and orientation was one thing. Being aided by my six-year-old was not something that boosts my ego. Granted, this was only our second week with this really cool YMCA and he had only went to the BK once before, I decided I was just going to brush him aside. But he insisted: "Mommy, I am too hungry. I will help you to get there". Now I was provoked. How could a six-year-old remember something that he only went once before that's about 45 minutes away from our house? I had to test him and prove him wrong. So, trying my best to supress my anxiety of finding a new place during rush-hour traffic and being directed by a six-year old, I told him to go ahead and tell me where to go.

Thomas: "Make a legal U turn on Mt Airy Rd (being trained with proper language by my GPS, which is probably the most frequent direction the little soothing female voice dishes out for me)". Hard, but I was successful with the help of a really wide driveway.
Thomas: "Stay on the right and get on the I-287 ramp".
Me: "Going South or North?"
Thomas: "South".
Me: "You sure?"
Thomas: "Trust me!".
Thomas: "Take exit 22, 202/206 North". Ok. I was lost already and totally at his mercy now. I assured myself: I have my home address programmed. Worst case, I (the GPS) knows how to get home!!
Thomas: "Bear right and take 202 North. No, no, not here, next exit. Mom!!!" He got frustrated. Sorry. I was nervous. Couldn't you tell!?
Thomas: "Ok. Now. Stay on the left side and take a left turn on Rt 523. Lamington Rd". I started to drop my jaw. How could he remember all this?
Thomas: "Ok. Get in the left lane. Turn left onto 206 South".
Me (panicking): "Are you sure this is right? We are going in circles".
Thomas: "Trust me, mommy".
Me (anxiety boiling): "We are going back over I-287. This totally does not make any sense!!"
Thomas: "You need to go under I-287 and cross I-78. Then turn right onto Burnt Mill Rd". In total despair, I put Burnt Mill Rd into my GPS (dangerous operation. Do not try at home!!) I did not know the street number, but at least it confirmed that the street did exist and I could see that it was beyond the red line of I-78.
Thomas (reaching over to rub my back): "Mommy: you are doing great. We are almost there". Suddenly, I felt a little mist over my eyes. Actually, lots.
I turned right onto Burnt Mill Rd. In five minutes, T&T were giggling with their star- and lightening-shaped nuggets. I munched on my salad in absolute, sheer amazement.

Thomas will turn 7 in two months. He went to this location only once before. This place is about 45 minutes from our home. He loves maps. I keep on marveling at how observant he must be in life to be able to know exact Rt numbers and street names. How much detail he must story in his little brain.

Thomas: I love you so much. I am so blessed and not worthy to have a son like you.