The Phamily Blog: January 2009

The Pham's do Tahoe...kinda.

For this past Christmas, Nguyen got me a weekend trip to Northstar at Tahoe in one of their "newly renovated" condos. We have been so excited about it. They have made a lot of fun new additions and it looked amazing online. There was shopping, an ice skating rink, and lots of yummy places to eat.

We left on Friday afternoon after Nguyen left work and, unfortunately, we didn't get there until after dark. Cameron woke up just as we were pulling up to the resort and was ecstatic at the first sight of snow. We let him have at it right there in the parking lot. Of course, this was the "not fun" snow, but he didn't know any different, so we didn't tell him ;)

Apparently he had been dreaming of "sliding" down the snow, so that he did!He certainly entertained Nguyen and I with his excitement. I wish I got that happy over muddy snow.

wee!!

First thing this morning, we all got up so we could enjoy the festivities that awaited us.
First stop: Breakfast!

Cameron was ready to get breakfast over with so we could get on with our day.

After we filled our bellies, we set off to conquer our activities for the day. Unfortunately, EVERYTHING was closed. The shops weren't even open. The only thing that wasn't closed were the ski lifts, which of course, we were not about to get on.

So we walked around hoping the ice rink would open up and Cameron and I could perfect our triple axles. No such luck. It didn't open until 1pm.
Bummer.

How about some snow angels to pass the time.

After we walked around aimlessly for over an hour, we made the unanimous decision to pack up and go home. The lack of activities wasn't the only thing that swayed our decision, however... Nguyen was thouroughlly disappointed with our room. Not only that, but everytime we left our room and came back to change a diaper, grab a bottle, etc, we had to call maintenance or grab someone from housekeeping as they were walking by because our keys would NOT unlock our door. It was ridiculous. I think we spent more time waiting outside of our room for someone to let us in than we did actually enjoying Tahoe. It just wasn't fun for us.

Another little side note...the people staying at this resort were WEIRD. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that we were walking around that first evening after everything had pretty much closed up, therefore leaving nothing but the night owls to give us our first impression, but the guests there were quite interesting. At one point Nguyen went to grab Gabby's strollers out of the car while Cameron, Gabby, and I waited in front of the elevator in our building. As we were standing there, an older couple got into an altercation and the man (who by the way was BELIGERENT) shoved his wife. Um...? She stormed off, away from the man as I stood there with my two small children wondering if I should spit on him or just bite my tongue. Just then, as he watched her walk away, he says to her "What are you, friggen RETARDED or somethin?!!!" That's when I decided to just go outside so my steam didn't fog up the lobby. Had Nguyen been there with me, something would have gone down. I totally could have taken him out myself, I know it.

Jerkface.

So yeah, anyway...we were ready to go home. But before we left, Cameron wanted to have a little snowball fight with Gabby. She was not impressed.

Ash- This is for you and this is as good as it gets! lol

One last slide on the "not fun" snow.

The kids slept the whole way home which was nice. Nguyen was ecstatic because he was going to be able to watch that Penn-St.Pierre fight afterall. ;)

And apparently, car rides are hard work. Gabby had another nap shortly after we got home.

And that was our short weekend! It was an experience and at least now Cameron can say he has played (kinda) in the snow.

I am happy I have all day tomorrow to do homework (joy!)
Hope everyone else is having a fantastic weekend!

The Bucket List

8:49 AM Posted In bucket list , sheree 9 Comments »

I have been thinking about this lately. I have a whole list of things I want to do someday. I think the problem with this is that so many people make these lists and continue to put them off claiming someday they'll get around to checking them off. And then, of course, there comes a day when it's too late to achieve these things. I hope to never let that happen. Life is far too short for someday.

That being said, I am starting to compose my bucket list...you know...things I want to do before I "kick the bucket." Did anyone ever see that movie? I never did, but I heard it was cute.

I have no doubt my list will be forever growing. That is fine...having a few things on the BL that aren't crossed off is okay, so long as most of them are ;)

So...I invite you to make a BL as well. Let's get this party started. I will update the BL as often as I can. Hopefully at least once a year...we'll see!

Sheree's Bucket List

1. Go on a cruise

2. Go to Vietnam

3. Go to Europe

4. How bout' I just condense all of this and say "Travel the world!"

5. Learn to play the piano (and play it well)

6. Go to the Oprah Winfrey show

7. Go to Disneyworld

8. Get a degree!

9. Learn the art of photography

10. Become a good gardner

11. Learn to love the taste of wine

12. Learn to love sushi

13. Take a cooking class!

14. Become an avid runner

15. Open up some sort of business

And of course, I will be adding to this...this is just what was in my head as of today.

update!

3:15 PM Posted In regional center , school , sheree 8 Comments »

Just wanted to let you all know that the Supervisor called me back today (FINALLY!) and she was actually VERY sweet and understanding. She is reassigning our case and we should have a new coordinator in a few days. Phew. I am glad that is over with.

As for my lapse in blogging, forgive me. I am SO tired. School is kicking my butt already and it's only week two. Actually, school in general is fine. It's my English class that is doing me in. The amount of reading and homework is CUH-razy.

And then of course, yesterday we bought a new printer so I decide to try and set it up at 9:00pm. Not a good plan...especially when I have a paper that needs to be turned in at 9:00am. I don't remember the last time I was that frustrated. Tears and the whole bit. Nguyen stayed away, which was a smart move on his behalf. I gave in to sleep around 1:30 (after reading a TON of really boring stuff in my English book) and made it a plan to head to kinkos first thing in the morning.

Four and a half hours later, my alarm is blaring and I am rushing to get ready so I can make sure to get my starbucks AND get to kinkos. I did the smart thing and worried about my paper BEFORE my coffee and got that all taken care of. Unfortunately, when I was done printing, it was too late to hit up the drive-thru at buck's so I had to go without. How unfortunate.

I got to school and the entire class was locked out (in the freezing cold) waiting for the teacher to show up. She shows but has no keys (grrr) so we wait some more. My entire face was frozen. I thawed out in the classroom and managed to keep my eyes open the entire class period. That is nothing short of amazing.

Next was my English class...the one I stayed up until 1:30 for...the one I woke up early for so I could go to kinkos (yeah, that one.) It was cancelled. At least my paper is done.

So I walked aimlessly around campus for an hour and ten minutes and then managed to, once again, survive another class. Now I am home and the house is torn apart and I am making no effort to fix it. Just wanted to fill you all in on what was going on. I am going to attempt a nap now since my kids and husband are resting. We'll see if my head even gets to hit the pillow before 9pm tonight. Wish me luck!

Mini vent...

3:33 PM Posted In gabby , regional center 24 Comments »

Ever since Gabby's diagnosis, we have been dealing with the Regional Center. They have provided us with valuable resources, and have also referred us to our wonderful Early Intervention team through the county of Education.

Good. Great. Except my service coordinator is a mean, mean lady. The frst time I met her (she came to my house) I chalked it up to her having a bad day or something. Since that day, I have probably talked to her a total of three times maximum and she has been just as pleasant each time (I hope you read that to yourself in a sarcastic tone.) Anyway, she stayed true to form when I called today to inquire about respite care.

Respite care is one of the wonderful benefits that our regional center offers. I really didn't know how it worked, but after talking to a few other families who have used it, I thought it would be nice for us as well. So I called my coordinator.

After I got off of the phone with her, I felt like a complete scumbag or something. She belittled me, like she always does. EVERY time I call this woman she makes me feel like *I* am trying to cheat the system or something...milk them for everything they offer. Yes Gabby receives therapies, and yes she receives her formula through them (which BY THE WAY, she did not inform me of, the Sacramento County of Education let me in on that little secret) But it's not like Gabby is in EVERY therapy they offer...she does physical therapy once every two weeks. Period. End of story. A lot of kids receive therapy more than twice a week. I could be asking for A LOT more, but I am not doing that just yet...I will eventually though. Who wouldn't want the most for their children?!

Anyway, when I was asking her about it, she immediately goes on the defensive saying things like, "this is in no way DAYCARE for your child." I was dumbfounded. At first I thought she must have taken my tone wrong, so I tried reminding her again that I was merely inquiring about what it was..not that I necessarily wanted it at this time. She then goes on to say that Respite care is only for use when a family is going through a "HIGHLY stressful situation."

???

So then I ask her, "okay, so what would you consider a 'highly stressful situation'? Would that be like after Gabby has her open heart surgery...would this be considered 'highly stressful'? To which she replied, "I don't understand what you are asking."

So I tried to word it differently. "What type of situation would be considered 'highly stressful'?

Silence...

"Well, say you have just HAD it. Say you just NEED to get out of the house for a couple of hours and go shopping. THEN, you could use respite."

OOOOOOhhhhhhh! I get it...so pretty much every second of every day of my life qualifies for respite. Got it. (No I didn't say this...I was in a bit of shock still.)

She continues with, "you know, when people plan for a child, they usually also plan for daycare...we're not here to pick up the slack where parents forget to." What the EFF?!!! By this point, I am losing my mind but somehow, some way , I managed to keep my cool. I bluntly replied with, "yeah,I get it...and I hope YOU realize, *I* am not trying to get free daycare out of you. I was honestly just inquiring about it...I wasn't quite sure how it works, so I thought I would ask. I am NOT here to cheat the system and take advantage of the regional center." And then she chilled out a little bit, but still...I was VERY upset.

So after thinking about it for a little while, I realized this woman needs to find a new occupation. I am sick of her acting like this over EVERYTHING. She put up a fuss over the formula too, but after jumping through a thousand and one hoops, we ended up getting it. I am done with the whole hoop jumping business. So I called her supervisor (who was away from her desk) and left a message asking her to call me back. I am requesting a new coordinator.

I just don't understand why she acts like this. Is it just me, or is it every family? I wonder if there are other beneficial programs out there she purposely is not mentioning. It seems to me that people in this proffession are usually in it because it is a highly rewarding job and they want to help others. This woman seems to think the complete opposite. I am thinking she needs a new job. I think she would fit in well at the DMV or the airport or the post office. You know, where the kindest, most sincere and helpful people work. (I am still terrified of ALL of these places. I am scared of bullies.)

Okay, I feel better...hopefully we will be assigned a new coordinator this week. I'll keep you all posted.

A day at the zoo!

9:05 PM Posted In cameron , sheree , zoo 10 Comments »

We have been having some exceptionally nice weather the last few days so we decided to take advantage of it and take a trip to the zoo! I wish our zoo was more exciting...you really have to take your time at the Sacramento Zoo, otherwise you're in and out in twenty minutes. So we made sure to look at ALL of the animals!

But first we had our lunch with the flamingos!

The leopards were being super cute and cuddly.

Cameron on safari!

This hyena reminds me a lot of my dog.

Cam squinting on the hippo bench :)

The best exibit at our zoo...
GIRAFFES!

And this wise fellow was pretty awesome as well!

He was observing all of us human folk.

Cameron's favorite...the howler monkey's. These guys are hysterical.
Cameron kept talking about the "monkey's that sound like fire engines" after we left.

More leopards!

Kangaroo Cam!

Red Pandas!

That pretty much sums up our zoo trip minus the reptile exhibit which Cameron really enjoyed

(except for the BIG boa...that guy was a little too big)

I think it will be a while before we go back to our zoo. We decided, we will take a trip to fairytale town next time...I think that will be more to Cameron's liking (and mine too!)

Hope everyone is having a great week. I started school this morning...more about that later!

;)

What's up with us?

8:27 AM Posted In cameron , gabby , nguyen , open heart surgery , opthamology , sheree 12 Comments »

I have been having a bit of writers block this past week, hence the lack of quality posts. Forgive me. With that being said, I figure it's a good time to fill everyone in on what we've been up to around here.

It looks like the worst of our colds are behind us, however I woke up on Monday with a sore throat. Again. So I am sure my kids are up next. Poor babies can't catch a break. I guess I signed up for this when I registered Cameron for preschool.

Speaking of Cameron, he is doing really well. He is getting really feisty and testing Nguyen and I daily with his smart mouth. We're working on it. And what's with that saying "The Terrible Two's" ??? In my experience, three is where it's at...the terrible-ness, that is. We are ready and waiting for FOUR which will be here next month. Four! It's officially a "kid age." How did that happen?

We are in the midst of trying to plan Cameron's birthday party. He isn't too excited about picking a theme at the moment, so I am taking full advantage of that. This may be the last year that I have a say, haha! So, a circus theme it is! I'm getting excited :)

Gabby is just as sweet as ever. A lot of people have inquired about her heart. We had her last appointment a couple of months ago and we will be going back in a couple more months to check on it again. At last check everything was good...not great as in, "YAY! Her heart issues have resolved, but great as in, "there's been no change...see you next time." I have to admit, it's exhausting wondering when we can put this all behind us. It's quite unnerving trying to plan vacations and what have you when you have a wee little princess waiting on open heart surgery.

Gabby had her first opthamology appointment yesterday and the doctor says her eyes look great. A lot of times kids with Ds can be nearsighted due to the size of their BIG beautiful eyes. It's not the case for miss gabby...at least, not yet. He said we can follow up with him in 3-4 years.

At last weight check, she weighed in at 13 pounds, 3 ounces. She is still a peanut and will likely remain so until she gets that open heart surgery under her belt. She's burning quite a bit of calories with that heart of hers. She never misses a day of cardio. Me on the other hand, ugh.

The weight loss thing is kind of at a standstill. About two weeks ago I was THREE pounds away from my pre-pregnancy weight with Gabby (don't even talk to me about pre-pregnancy weight with cameron...it's depressing) but anyway, once the week was over that "three pounds away" thing was only a mirage. My scale was teasing I guess. Jerk. So then of course, the dissapointment was followed by "well, why am I drinking slimfast all day if I am not going to lose weight?" (grrrreat thinking, sheree) And so I ate all of the junky crap I was trying to avoid the week prior. This week I have my attitude in check and it's back to the slimfast (gag) and intense cardio. This morning I could hardly walk I was so sore. It's a good sign.

Nguyen is busy busy busy with work. For whatever reason, even in a recession, people are still opening new restaurants. And the good restaurants are staying open, thank goodness. The one downside is that we have to hound these restaurants for payments. They always end up paying, but never without a little nagging. Whatever...we do what we gotta do and if that means calling someone EVERY day for two weeks straight, I'm game.

Oh I just remembered I forgot to mention I am GOING BACK TO SCHOOL next week. I am really looking forward to it but don't be surprised if a few days go by without a blog. Homework is going to be intense, I am sure!

So that's what's up with us. Sorry it couldn't be a more exciting update. We like boring around here!