Marathon Fever!

Well, we did it. Maiya, Tony & I raised about $1,100 for Great Leap this weekend in the LA Marathon Bike Ride and 5K. I was running a fever on Saturday night through Sunday night. It was a busy & crazy weekend. Considering that I had insomnia, neverending sinus drip and a fever the night before, we did pretty well. I was up from midnight to 3:30 am, woke up at 4:30 am, woke up Maiya just after 6am, got her dressed and out of the house, through Marathon traffic, arriving at 7am, and meeting Nobuko and the other Great Leapers.

Here we are waiting for the start of the LA Marathon 5K - 7:15 am

Great Leapers walking for Great Leap at the start line

Early and in good spirits (still)

I love that we were on Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

Maiya eating a granola bar at Mile 1

Maiya was in good spirits for the first mile. When we went under the freeway, it was dark and people were hooting and hollering and I felt that pride of emotion that I get when I see ice skating, or a corny commercial. I didn't want to get her out of the stroller too early, because I knew that she wouldn't go back in, even if she got tired.

Finally free! I let her out of the stroller after the halfway point

So I let her out, just after 1 1/2 miles and that's when the meltdown began. She insisted on pushing the stroller, which meant going from side to side because it's too big for her to control. She was miserable, whining and refusing to get back in the stroller. Walking sideways, hanging on the stroller, pulling on my jacket, wanting to be carried...

JK: Maiya, let's sing a song, "A, B, C, D..."
MG: No song Mommy. Stop singing!

JK: Should we march? (Starting to march)
MG: No marching!!

MG: Mommy I hungry!
JK: Here's some apples I brought.
MG: No apples.
JK: Well, do you want cereal?
MG: No! No cereal!
JK: I have oranges.
MG: No! I no want oranges!!! I want bar!
JK: You've eaten 3 granola bars already. No more granola bars.
And on and on.

Can't believe we made it to Mile 3 - notice our matching sweats

Nobuko helped by pushing the stroller the last mile. Then thankfully, I could see the freeway overpass. So I told Maiya that we just had to make it under the freeway and around the corner to the finish line. That helped both of us, having a goal. Then while taking pictures at the Mile 3 marker, we ran into our friend and yoga teacher, Krishna, and the Yoga for Youth group. That was pretty exciting.

Our friends from the Black Yoga Teachers Assn - Yoga 4 Youth
Krishna on the far right

Exposition Park at the Finish Line! We did it in 1 hour 15 minutes.

Showing off our medals

Maiya showing me how she really feels

We finished at 1 hour, 15 minutes, and crossed the finish line together and stood in line to get our medals. In all, I'd say she walked about 1-1/2 miles this year. Then, Maiya had to go poo poo, so she unfortunately had her first experience in an Andy Gump--not pleasant. Anyways, by then I was drained. We got home about 9:30 am, and I was in bed shortly after that for the rest of the day and night. My fever peaked at 101.3 at about 5pm. Tony took Maiya to Jessica's Bday party for me.

So will we do it again next year? I'll have to think about it. But Maiya proudly wore her Marathon pin to preschool the next day. And, if I'm going to wake up that early, I'm going to do it for Great Leap.

BIG THANKS to all the generous friends who sponsored Kuida-Osumi in this year's Marathon.

Busy Leap Year Weekend

Maiya helping Yumi on the potty
(err Dora Neck Pillow & Parachute)

Ah, it's going to be a busy weekend. Here's our weekend "plan":

Saturday:
* Tony baseball game (he's helping his friend Danny coach his son's baseball team)
* Jenni & Maiya breakfast with Auntie Keiko and her friends
* Jenni to chiropractor/healer (fine tuning my sciatica before the walk)
* Our friend Scott Kurashige's book reading at Southern California Library
* LA Marathon Expo (to pick up our Marathon bibs, tshirts & race packets)
* Nishi Fundraiser Dinner (preschool event - made a carrot cake last night for the bake sale)
* Retirement party for Tak Yamamoto from Manzanar Committee

Sunday:
* Tony - Bike Marathon
* Jenni & Maiya - Marathon 5K
* Great Leap DimSum
* Jessica's 3rd Bday Party
* Laundry? Dishes?

Tonight, I have insomnia, Maiya woke me up at 2am and I'm still up. Maiya has a runny nose and eyes, so I'm not sure if we'll be able to do it all, but we have to do the Marathon, and I'd really like to see Scott, Emily & Tula. Thank goodness for the extra day for (Great) Leap Year. By the way, it's not too late to sponsor KuidaOsumi in the LA Marathon this weekend! Send a comment or email if you're interested. Ok, I'm going to go frost my cake and go back to bed.

If Preschoolers Could Vote...

Wednesday night at dinner:
MG: Mommy, I don't like Barack Obama.
JK: Really? Why not? I like him.
MG: I don't like him.
JK: Oh. Well do you like Hillary Clinton?
MG: No.
JK: Uhhh... (pause) do you like John McCain?
MG: No, I don't like him either.
(Jenni and Tony let out a sigh of relief and look at each other across the table.)
JK: Oh ok, well maybe you like Cynthia McKinney? Daddy voted for her.
MG: No.
JK: Well, who do you like?
MG: AUNTIE KEIKO!!!! (Big smile)

Hahahahahaha.

Thursday morning:
As we're running out the door, Maiya pulls the newspaper out which is sitting on the end table and opened to a photo of Barack Obama pointing and speaking.
MG: Mommy, I don't like Barack Obama.
JK: Why? He's running for President. I voted for him.
MG: He is a bad man. His eyes are mean.
JK: Maiya, his eyes look like that because he's talking about Hope and Change.

I mean, really where does this come from? Too much background TV? Kids at preschool? Honestly she caught me off guard that she even recognized his picture in the paper. Yesterday was the first time I ever talked to her about him, when I was showing her his myspace page. Well, I guess I have to take a deep breath and be proud that my child will have thoughts and ideas that are different from mine, but I really didn't think it would be the 2008 Presidential primaries. I better get to work on some age-appropriate politicking, so she can make an informed preschooler's decision.

Here's Barack Obama's stand on Education. It's actually pretty refreshing.

Jenni & Maiya Walking for a Great Leap

Last year's Marathon - notice we're at the end of the pack!

I've been involved with Great Leap, a nonprofit multicultural performing arts organization for the last 11 years, first as the Managing Director, and now as a Board member. Along with some friends from Great Leap, Maiya and I will be walking in the LA Marathon 5K next Sunday, March 2nd.

It will be our 2nd time to walk in the Emerald Nuts 5K Run/Walk. Last year, Maiya rode in the stroller at the beginning, but ended up walking more than half of the way. This year we will see if she wants to walk the whole way. Or not.

In addition to mother-daughter bonding, fun, exercise, and a unique Los Angeles experience, our group is walking to raise funds for Great Leap, presenting arts and community building initiatives in Los Angeles for 30 years. This year, Great Leap is an official charity of the LA Marathon.

I would be thrilled if you would sponsor us. 100% of your contribution will go to supporting Great Leap's programs such as Collaboratory and Art of Weaving Faiths.

If you would like to sponsor us, please email or leave a comment and let me know how much you'd like to pledge. I'll send you an email (and photos!) confirming our completion of the event. Thanks for supporting me, Maiya and Great Leap on its 30th anniversary. Great Leap is truly using the arts for social change in our community.

Love and Peace,

Jenni & Maiya

P.S. If you don't want to sponsor us... Tony is riding 26 miles in the Acura Bike Marathon for Great Leap as well! You are welcome to sponsor him!

Hooray, we finished! Support multicultural arts!

(Great) Leaps of Faith

Who: Great Leap
What: Collaboratory V
When: Saturday, March 8 (2pm, 7pm) & Sunday March 9 (2pm)
Where: JANM Democracy Center, 369 E. First Street
Why: Ten artists of different faiths boldly jump into the swirling waters of interfaith collaboration through personal stories, dance, poetry and song
How: RSVP (213) 250-8800 or email clara

Making Valentine's

So, when did Valentine's become Halloween? Maiya got so much candy and stuff for Valentine's Day from preschool. I couldn't believe it. She got to eat 1 piece of candy, one of those little chalky hearts, and Tony put the bag away somewhere, and she seems to have forgotten about it. Same as Halloween. Anyways, here are Maiya and Tony making Valentine's cards for her class. Tony carved out hearts from potatoes and they stamped them on the card.

On Valentine's Day, I had a really busy and exciting day at work. We had a visit from the former governor of Iowa, and his wife, who is a champion for family literacy and technology. I'll blog and post pictures about it later. On Valentine's night, we stopped at Uncle Bill's house, then went to Marie Callendars for dinner. I got a pretty good chicken pot pie and a delicious apple waldorf salad, Tony got soup and sandwich, and Maiya got the macaroni & cheese kid's plate. Afterwards, Tony was sneaking banana cream pie in the kitchen... $5.99 on all pies until the end of the month.

I'm off today. It's raining. We made sugar-free cranberry-orange-carrot pulp muffins this morning. I think we're going to go to the library. Tonight I have a JACS meeting/dinner and Tony is taking Maiya to Talpa's with "the guys." That's it for now.

3 years ago or so

Here's a repeat of a slideshow from Maiya's birth and 1st month at home. I love watching it. I remember thinking how beautiful she was. It was my best work to date. Probably time to make another. (Video, that is.)

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Maiya's 1st Quincenera

Last weekend, Maiya & I went to my co-worker Rocio's daughter Laura's quincenera. It was the first for both of us. It was nice to see several kids from Maiya's old childcare, and several of the caregivers. It was a very touching event and reminded me of a wedding, except no groom. Maiya's not into princesses, but she was following Laura around--totally in awe of how beautiful she looked in her dress. Watching Laura dancing with her older brother Angel was breathtaking, even for me.

Maiya was also following Justin's every move. I think Justin has become Maiya's best friend. They were running around screaming, chasing, crawling on the dance floor like bugs, actually wrestling on the dance floor, and doing some 70s disco dancing for several hours.

Maiya hadn't had a nap, and we didn't leave there until almost 9:30 pm. Maiya had her biggest meltdown possibly in her lifetime just after we left, walking down the street, getting into the car, and screaming and crying the entire drive home. Anyways, we had a wonderful time.

Baby Legs Product Review

I won a pair of "Baby Legs" on ConnectingMoms.com. Here is my product review:

My 3 year old daughter Maiya is one of those kids who must have complete control over what she wears. I thought the BabyLegs would be a good fit for her because she went through this 4 month phase of wearing dresses only and no pants and had just recently potty learned. But just before they arrived, my girl started wearing sweats and stretchy pants and went out of the dress phase. Luckly that only lasted a few weeks, so it took her a few weeks to decide to wear them. She had gotten a pair of the Retro Turquose & Orange BabyLegs for Christmas. In the meantime, the Dark Rye Baby Legs (chocolate brown & polka dots) arrived for us to review. Me explaining that she had to wear them so I could do my review, did not have any impact. So both pairs sat in their pretty packaging for a few weeks. I contemplated giving mine to a friend so I could review their child. I worried that this product was more for babies and that maybe I shouldn't have offered to review them. But, finally, she decided to put them on, she fell in love with them. She wore the Retro ones 5 days in a row, calling them "Stripeys" and "BigGirl Legs." Then when I insisted on washing them, she took to the brown pair, and wore them 3 days in a row, including one day under pants. Any ways, the moral of the story is that they are a big hit around here.

What I like about them is that they are very versatile. They can warm her cold feet if we're at home or they can keep her legs warm wearing a dress on winter days, they can protect her knees from scabs and bruises if she's out playing, they are made of a soft fabric that isn't scratchy or itchy, they come in lots of vibrant colors and styles, and they allow her to be the unique little girl that she is. But the best part is simply that she loves them.

Three Big Changes

3 Big changes for Maiya...

(1) The first is that Thursday, 1/31 was Maiya's last day as a 2 year old, and her last day at Grace Iino, the child care program where she has been going since she was 9 months old. I was lucky that when I went back to work, I was able to nurse Maiya 4 times a day, and that she was in a program where I work, in a program I am working for. I was sad for her to leave because it has been a second home to her and she has really enjoyed being in the Toddler Plus program the last few months. As one of the oldest children, I have watched her grow into a confident, outgoing, bubbly young girl with a funny sense of humor. But, it was time for her to leave. On her last day, she was sad to say goodbye, and even went home sick early without really saying a good goodbye. Here she is on her last morning outside with one of her best friends Verenice.

(2) Yesterday was Maiya's 3rd Birthday party for our family. Even though we wanted to keep it small, we had 27 people over, including 7 kids. And we even had about 10 people cancel since they were sick. We ordered Ono's Hawaiian BBQ, Chinese Chicken salad from Feast from the East, and California Rolls from Asakuma. Tony spent about 3 hours cleaning the bathroom yesterday, and I started cleaning and decluttering back on Wednesday. Maiya was pretty excited. She could recite almost the entire guest list from memory, the day before the party. A few people asked me the theme: it was Maiya's Groovy Peace Party, complete with happy faces, peace signs, flowers and butterflies.

Maiya grinning with her Carrot Bundt Cake

I also made Rainbow Confetti Happy Face Cupcakes--
big hit with the under 7 crowd

Family Photo

With Cousin Danika and her cousins

With Tony's godmother Val, godsister Beth, and Maiya's godcousin Erin
and her new dragon from Erin

Uncle Tony with nephews Kieth and new best friend Kevin

Opening presents with help from cousin Kyle

(3) And today, Maiya's first day at preschool at one of the Buddhist temples in Little Tokyo. Here we are outside, right before going in to meet her new teacher Ms. Laura and classmates. It's funny that she is wearing the same outfit that she wore on her last day at childcare.

So we went inside, and immediately, Maiya grew shy and quiet. I sat with the class, about 8 kids during their circle time. The teacher asked each child if they had any announcements. Maiya sat on my lap for about 10 minutes. I watched as she stood in line to wash her hands and sit down for morning snack. Then, when her friend Justin (I work with his mom Janet) came in and said hi, she perked up a bit and actually spoke a little bit. When it was time for me to leave, she cried, reaching for me. Her new teacher picked her up, and I blew her a kiss and walked out with Janet & Cliff (Justin's dad). Before I got to the end of the hall, less than a minute, she stopped crying. Tony & I went to pick her up together at the end of the day. One of the teachers said that she cried a little before and after naptime, but that she had a good day. Ah! I'm getting choked up just thinking about it. We'll see how it goes tomorrow for Day 2.

One cool thing is that everyone at the preschool is given a symbol, which starts with the letter of their first name. Maiya's symbol is a Monkey, which is so fitting since the girl loves monkeys (we have a monkey bathroom, monkey PJs, and at least 7 stuffed monkeys in the house), and her Chinese zodiac sign is the Monkey (she made it by 2 days).

Well I'm feeling fluish and sick... hope it passes quickly. Don't forget to vote tomorrow.

Jumping on Daddy w/Monkey PJs

These pictures and video express the fun relationship that Tony & Maiya have together. They are so cute together. It is no wonder they are my favorite people on this earth. Peace. Out.

My favorite is the walrus!

Auntie Keiko took me & Maiya to Sea World yesterday. It was both Maiya and Keiko's first time there, and my first time in 13 years. I can't believe I drove 260 miles in one day. We had a lot of fun and the rain stayed away the whole day!

Auntie's favorite was the Shamu show.

Sitting in the Soak Zone. Auntie was "soaked" for $14 for 2 drinks.

Dolfin encounter

These pretty birds are just looking to steal fish from the dolphins.

Second row of the Soak Zone for the dolphin & whale show.

Good thing for our rain jackets keeping us dry!

We enjoyed seeing the penguin exhibit, polar bears and watching a sea otter.

But our favorite part was seeing the walruses in the underwater viewing window. The walruses swam right up to us and flipped over slowly several times. One of them looked like he was as long as our bedroom and wider than a hippo. They were pretty humongous and yet were really graceful for their bulky size. One had tusks and a mustache wider than my face.

Update in pix

Surprising Grandma Machi for her 70th Bday @ the Red Lobster

My two favorite people ever

Backyard Play - Going through a growth spurt - almost 3!

Latest fun is blocks and lacing beads

FWIW

For what it's worth, I took a little quiz, and this is who they say I should vote for based on my responses of the issues. Never heard of Mike Gravel before, but a quick glance at his website confirms that the quiz is fairly accurate for me.

84% Mike Gravel
82% Dennis Kucinich
72% Barack Obama
71% John Edwards
68% Joe Biden
67% Chris Dodd
66% Hillary Clinton
65% Bill Richardson
38% Rudy Giuliani
33% Ron Paul
33% John McCain
29% Mike Huckabee
26% Mitt Romney
14% Tom Tancredo
14% Fred Thompson

2008 Presidential Candidate Matching Quiz

On another completely unrelated note, there is a new show on Nickelodeon about a Chinese American preschooler that starts in February. We don't have cable, but it will be interesting to see if it's a good show or not. It's called Ni Hao, Kai-Lan.

Update for 08

I haven't been around much this year because we have been busy with health issues. So far, my wish for our family is better health in 08.

* Tony's dad was in the hospital for 17 days from Dec. 29. He was released last night and is now back at home.

* My low back/sciatica was in pain, off & on since before Christmas. Last week I couldn't walk, turn, sit or crawl. I finally saw my chiropractor/healer on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and I go back today. He took me off breads, pastas, and processed foods, and gave me calcium lactate supplements. I am feeling much better now.

* I had $800 of dental work on the day after New Year's (crown & a filling). I have to go back today to get my permanent crown. That will teach me to wait so long between checkups. Tony, who hadn't gone in 4 years was perfect--so he spent his $800 on a tube amp (audio nerds and stereophiles will know what this is!). Maiya will have her first visit to the dentist soon as well.

* I bought a Jack La Lanne juicer last week. We have been through 5 pounds of carrots, 7 apples, as well as other fruits and veggies already. I've tried to reduce/eliminate candies, cookies, and all the crap I ate during the holidays. It is part of my Healthy Jenni Plan for 08.

Birthday wishes for Grandma Machi who turns 70 today... and of course to MLK, who would have been 79 today. Also to Grandpa Don and Uncle Shag whose birthdays are tomorrow. Before I go, I'll leave photos from my nephew Kevin's 3rd Bday Party and my funky girl.

Car seat battles: The not-so-cutesy-stuff

I was telling Tony that Maiya and I were in an argument last night in the car coming home from work/childcare. He said something like, "You should blog about this, instead of all the cutesy stuff."

When I picked her up from childcare, she was all happy as usual. As we walked out of the center, she said sweetly, "Mommy, your back is hurt?" "Thank you for asking. It is feeling a little better right now." We went into the office as usual so she could visit her friends (my coworkers) and have a snack, which is one of her favorite parts of the day. She often doesn't want to say goodbye.

So later, we're getting in the car and she is stalling as usual. Sometimes it takes us several long minutes just for her to stop futzing around and get into the car, and then more dilly-dallying to actually get her into the seat. Finally she gets in the car and is purposely sitting on the seatbelt so that I can't buckle it. I ask her to move back so I can strap her in. She digs in, not letting me access the seat belt. I am getting exasperated and say, "Maiya, move back please. Now." My gentle parenting philosophy flies out the window at this point. She doesn't, so I have to get my body inside the car to lift her butt so that I can get her in, which is killing my back. When my head is in the car, she starts hitting me in the head with "Lamby" a little stuffed animal. I get mad and grab Lamby from her and violently throw him in the front seat.

MG: I want Lamby!
JK: Not right now.
MG: I want my Lamby! Gimme Lamby! (She's now strapped in by force)
JK: No, MG, now right now. You were hitting Mommy with Lamby and that wasn't nice.

So for the next 10-15 minutes, she is demanding Lamby. I am asking her to either apologize for hitting mommy, or ask nicely, instead of demanding him in a mean way. "You are not getting him back when you ask me nasty like that." Two choices. She keeps demanding in a nasty voice. Finally as we're moving from the 110 freeway to the 10 heading West she says,

"Mommy, no talk to me. Stop talking me!"

Fine with me! At this point in the retelling of the story Tony laughs and says "Isn't this not supposed to happen for a few more years? At least until the pre-teen years? Anyways, finally, somewhere around Crenshaw or La Brea we both cooled off, and she did stop acting horribly and finally asked nicely for Lamby, so I gave it back to her, explaining that she asked nicely. She did say that something in her tooth was bothering her mouth, actually she said, "My sparkling teeth is not so good." And that she was upset that she didn't want to go home, she wanted to go see Uncle Bill. But I explained that daddy was at home, so we were going to go home, and then pick up daddy and go to Costco.

By the time we get home, she is in a good mood. Just another night. Just wait until I blog about some of our getting dressed battles. Or the swearing, which is new. At least we are over the teeth brushing battles and the war against pants, shoes and jackets. For now. Lately I hear that Threes are worse than Terrible Twos. Can't wait!

HNY08

It's midnight... Harmonically Yours!
~ Wishing you peace & harmony in 2008 ~
Happy New Year
from Jenni, Tony & Maiya (2 yrs, 11 mos.)
1/1/08