Pack Leader

I love watching Dog Whisperer. This guy is phenominal with dogs. His tactics are so easy and so obvious it's genius. With a dog like Chloe, Jae and I have much incentive to watch this show so we could pick up some of his tricks and also know that there are worse dogs than Chloe out there.

Tugging the leash is one of the tactics The Dog Whisperer uses to divert a dog's attention. We've tried doing this before, especially when guests arrive at our door. Chloe needs to learn manners when greeting people at the door. She believes she is the pack leader in the household. Bad! So I realized today that I've been tugging her leash the wrong way. First of all, the collar is supposed to be high up in her neck because it is the most sensitive area. We've been tugging her collar around the middle of her neck which I learned has no effect on a dog. I also learned that I need to pull the leash either to the front or to the side and that the tugging needs to be a quick, reflex-type of movement. I've been tugging Chloe to the back and it's been more of a pulling than a tugging. The Dog Whisperer says that in pulling the dog in this manner actually excites them more. This is why Chloe seems to get more agitated. I also need to remain calm and assertive.

When the weather gets nicer, I'll have to take Chloe out on walks with the kids. I'm invisioning a nice stroll around the neighborhood block. I'm hoping this will also help get Chloe into the house without bribery.

Juan Valdez

I learned much about coffee. It's been on my mind since that's all that I've been consuming since Kate's arrival.

Legend has it that the first coffee bean was discovered by a goat herder who everyday called to his goats with his "flute" at the end of the day. One evening, the goats did not return to his call so he searched them out. He found his herd of goats eating something from a bush. The farmer tried some and noted a sense of uplifting energy soon afterwards. I assume he took them to market. This story reminded me of that old coffee commercial with Juan Valdez. I never realized he was a fictional character. Why did I ever think he was a real person? Ha ha ha.

Meltdown

Ellie's true feelings of Kate reared its ugly head today. "Throw her away!"

I was giving Kate a bath and as usual, Ellie joined in, but not in the sense of helpfulness. She was walking along the edge of the bathtub as if it were a balance beam and she was the gymnast about to give her 10.0 (or now adays 6.0) dismount. All went well until the end of the bath. I asked Ellie to step aside so I could reach Kate and wrap her up in her towel. Then something clicked. Kate started to cry because she was cold so I started to talk to her in a comforting way. This somehow made Ellie upset and she demanded I stop talking to Kate. At this point, both girls were screaming...one feeding the others' hysteria. I was hoping Jae would come out to help, but he was in a meeting.

I headed downstairs to feed Kate before even getting a chance to dress her in hopes of calming down one of my girls, then Ellie wanted me to give her a piggy back ride downstairs. I told her I couldn't because I was holding Kate and she needed to be fed. "Kate's crying cuz she's hungry and cold. Let's feed her first and you can help me get her dressed." More crying. "Ellie, I can't put Kate down and let her cry." Then Ellie said those words. "Throw her away Mom!"

I couldn't believe my ears. By this time, both girls were screaming at the top of their lungs. I went downstairs to feed Kate as Ellie walked down the stairs with me, holding my hand. Things seemed to settle down until Kate finished eating. Ellie burst into tears again which startled Kate and made her cry again. Both kids screaming...tears streaming from both faces. This went on for 20 minutes. All I could do was smile at the situation. I knew if I didn't, I'd lose it.

At the end of the fiasco, Jae found me rocking on the glider half asleep with Ellie on my right and Kate on my left. He relieved me from Kate and we had short talk with Ellie.

What's the lesson in this? Never give Kate a bath while Jae's in a meeting.

Lesson #2

I learned how to read macaroni in Korean. Jae brought some snacks back from the Korean grocery store. There are these corn snacks shaped like rings. Ellie likes to wear them on her fingers and likes me to "break it" in half before she eats it. It's not even that crunchy. Such a princess. Did we create this monster or is it an inherited trait?...and if so, from whom? Is it who or whom? Maybe that's a lesson for tomorrow. Anyways, I was hoping to learn something new about tornados from a special broadcast on National Geographic Channel (I love it) tonight, but missed the show. Oh well. I still aspire to one day chase a tornado.

New Year Resolution

Happy New Year everyone!

It's been quite busy since Kate's arrival so I haven't had much time to spend on the computer other than to finish watching Alias series. I'm on Season 4. I hope to be done watching them by February so I can focus on Lost. I think I'll make it.

My New Year's Resolution is to learn something new every day (no matter how mundane or irrelevant it may seem) and then post it here. I wonder how long it will last.

Day 1
I was told that intelligent/smart people tend to be thinner than the rest of the bunch because they rarely like to spend their energy upon eating...they are too busy studying/exploring/wondering. Food is an afterthought. They eat to survive. I wonder if this is true. Most brainiacs are pretty skinny...now that I think about it.

Dump truck

Although it's noon, it feels like morning...I just woke up.
Can't seem to remember what day it is anymore...or what time it is. First thing I check when I wake up is the clock. "Is it time to feed Kate yet again?"
I went downstairs to rumage for breakfast...took out the 3 bags of lettuce my mom brought over last night...looked at the expiration date. Dec. 15. Doesn't make a difference since I have no clue what today's date is. All I know is that it's Thursday cuz I saw the garbage trucks stow away our trash into the trucks...only they left debris on our lawn again...some napkins and a milk container. Nothing much I can do but give them the evil eye from behind the curtains. Reminds me of something my dad would do. If someone were to cut him off or swerve to closely as he was driving, he'd shake his fists and yell in his fobbish Korean dad-like way, "Are you crrllaachzzzheee?" And give them the evil eye. He'd do this after he made sure his windows were rolled up and the car that invaded his lane had driven a good 300 ft. ahead from his car.

Anyways, still thinking about daycare. I think my husband is thrilled at the prospect of more money coming into the home, but I'm not sure I want to support his cable/electronic/game addiction just yet. I did think about the logistics of it all...and realized we need a bigger home with a basement where I can store my husband.

Alias

Been busy watching Alias these days. It's good. It all makes sense...in a season of my life when nothing seems to make sense.

After reading my sister's blog, I thought about opening a home day care. All I need is a good assisstant. My current assisstant sheds, drools, and does the opposite of fetch. Maybe I can train her to be a nursing dog. We'd have a in-house nurse.

Ellie can teach the kids how to dance and ask for chocolate milk.

Oh Christmas Tree II

So this is the Christmas Tree Ellie lovingly refers to as "The Blueberry Tree" to replace our old one. I'm not sure which is worse. Even the star is hiding.

But as Linus said, "This isn't such a bad little tree. All it needs is a little love." Though I doubt Ellie is going to sacrifice her pink blanket for it.

Oh Christmas Tree...

This tree has decided to retire. It's another Charlie Brown Christmas at Roxbury Lane.

Another Jae-ism #24

I made a remark to Jae about how babies and kids seem to be drawn to him. They love looking at him or playing with him. I said that kids really seem to flock to him.

Then Jae says, "I have a distinct aroma."

I remarked, "You mean aura?"

"Oh, is that how you say it?"

This beats Metropolitan ice cream.