birthday wishes

Every year I got birthdays back to back. Ninja and A’s birthdays are exactly 2 weeks apart and papi’s birthday is 12 days before Ninja’s. Organizing 3 birthday parties in a course of 4 weeks is definitely challenging but fun. And the best part? By the first week of February, I am done with all the birthday organization!

Ninja got his big 9 go-kart party this year. Yet the person who had the most fun was Papi (in my opinion). And Ninja’s birthday wish? "Everyone has a good life and gets what he/she wants. And I become the best soccer player in the world."








A got her big 7 gym party at her favorite gym. And her birthday wish? A tiny house (she definitely watches too much of “Tiny House Nation” on Netflix)

And Papi got his small chilled backyard party with good friends. And his birthday wish? Let’s just say that it’s R-rated and not for kids. 😉😉😉

Mamba on Youth Sport

I haven't followed NBA for 10+ years. I lived through the Jordan era but never quite made it to Kobe before becoming an aficionado of fútbol and La Liga. But the name Kobe Bryant rang a bell. I knew that he was extremely famous, he played for Lakers (my current home city) and he was the biggest star (if not one of the biggest stars) after Jordan.

His passing has been all over the news and people paid tributes to this super athlete, father, teammate, and friend. Curious about who he really was (apart from what made him famous) and how important he meant to this community apart from the hoop world, I went on reading and watching interviews about Kobe. This one video particularly echoed with how I feel and believe in (youth sports), as a soccer mom. It coincides with the philosophy of kids playing team sports. Then I learned about his books (the Wizenards) and the kids podcast (the Punies), in which teaching kids important life lessons through sports (but it's not just about sports) because he viewed sports as the ultimate metaphor for life. Wow! I was in awe. He was truly great person and he genuinely wanted to pass down these great values to the next generation. And he was onto something lasting and amazing for a second act but gone too soon.
#mambaspirit #metaphorforlife

Social Study 101 - Family Tree

Counting down the days to TW, as we are spending the entire Thanksgiving week visiting our Asian family. Kids are extremely excited since they have learned and read quite a bit of it in the past year. It’s not their first time visiting TW but it’s going to be their first “memorable” time (I’ll say) as they are now older. Knowing that we are going to see SO many extended families (grandparents, great grand aunts, uncles, uncles, aunts, first cousins, second cousins...), I feel that I owe them a social study 101 lesson. What can be better than starting with a family tree! So let’s get the Cheng (my maternal) side started!

holiday seasons

It really doesn't get easier since T's pass. It especially hits me hard when any major holiday approaches. I was contemplating if we should even send out the family greeting card this year. At the end, I decided, show must go on and the world won't stop moving so the life has to go on...

<in the back of the holiday card this year>

What a year it's been!

A very challenging one with ups and downs, good surprises and unexpected losses. It's one of those years that you would look back and remember every single moment of and wish you could explain everything with karma but it would just be too simple.

We all know, really, this is part of life. The setback is for our comeback, and if doesn't kill us it only makes us stronger.

Vividly remembered on a gorgeous Sunday morning, Ninja was waiting for his hot cocoa in a coffee shop and he had an epiphanic moment:

N: I love my life.
S: Why?
N: Because I have the best people.

We love our lives. We have the best people. We are forever grateful to having you in our lives and being there for us, being our source of stability and part of our support network.

We wish you and your loved ones a beautiful holiday season and a great 2020 with lots of love, health and prosperity.

With love,

SFEA

Election Time

N: mom, where is the student council packet?
Me: at home I suppose. Why?
N: it's due tomorrow. I need to turn it in.
(to my surprise, why? he's running?)
Me: you're going to run for student council?
N: Yes. I want to.
Me: Why?
N: Cuz I think it would be fun!
(me thinking: interesting! Never crossed my mind that he would want to run for student council plus he always has told me that he has "stage fright". And his dad and I have always been very apolitical though we like discussing politics at home.)
Me: ok. cool! You know that you need to write a lot, like a paragraph about why you want to do it, no?
N: Yeah. I know. I will write it.

So here it is. Ninja's "vision" of being part of the student council...

"FUN" is pretty much the main theme and his "vision" of the whole "campaign" Pretty much all he wanted is to have fun and make school more fun and make everyone smile more! I thought that it was pretty neat and innocent for a third-grader. Nothing about "saving the world" but just "to have fun". And you know, why not? considering how much work these kids have to do at school these days.

Best friends, worst enemies

To my surprise, A, who just started her first grade, actually enjoys writing (journals). She’s always been quite creative and loves doing arts. When I picked her up from Kid’s Corner this afternoon, she showed me this beautiful drawing she made for her brother. And N was somewhat indifferent. I was a bit disappointed with his reaction. She kept wanting to show her affection to him but he just shrugged it off. “I don’t like people give me so much love,” he said, “I feel uncomfortable.” Shy? Or growing up? Maybe a bit of both. Thinking back that the other day I had to toss them out of the car because of a silly quarrel between the two, perhaps it is truly as what they say, they are “best friends and worst enemies.”

Smart but bad?

Ninja: I wish I could live in the White House..
Me: Why?
Ninja: Because it has a hundred rooms.
Me: But why do you need so many rooms? There's only one Erik. What are you going to do with so many rooms?
Ninja: Then why do they have so many rooms?
Me: Because they have a lot of guests and they need to accommodate them.
Ninja: How come we never get invited?
Me: (pause and thinking) because they only invite important people. Because the POTUS is an important person.
Ninja: How can I become important? I need to work hard?
Me; Yes. You need to be smart and work hard because the POTUS only works with smart people.
Ninja: But what if you are smart but bad?
(wow, right on!)
Me: Then that is not good. It is more important to be good than be smart. And being good sometimes is hard than being smart...

...pretty deep for a bath time conversation.

ninja making a wish on his 7th birthday