Handbook 2010

As I think about what I want to accomplish in 2010, I draw a blank. Maybe its okay to not plan for too much this year.... Maybe its okay to just take time to just focus on the simple things in life. Yep, that's what I'm gonna do this year...keeping it simple!

I wasn't the genius behind the attached handbook...but thought its very worthy of passing on. Enjoy and all the best in 2010!

Health:
1. Drink plenty of water.
2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.
3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants..
4. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy
5. Make time to pray.
6. Play more games
7. Read more books than you did in 2009 .
8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day
9. Sleep for 7 hours.
10. Take a 10-30 minutes walk daily. And while you walk, smile.

Personality:
11. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
12. Don't have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
13. Don't over do. Keep your limits.
14. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
15. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip.
16. Dream more while you are awake
17. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need..
18. Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner with His/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don't hate others.
20. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
21. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
22. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
23. Smile and laugh more.
24. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree...

Society:
25. Call your family often.
26. Each day give something good to others.
27. Forgive everyone for everything.
28. Spend time w/ people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.
29. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
30. What other people think of you is none of your business.
31. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

Life:
32. Do the right thing!
33. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
34. GOD heals everything.
35. However good or bad a situation is, it will change..
36. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
37. The best is yet to come..
38. When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it.
39. Your Inner most is always happy. So, be happy.

Last but not the least
40. Please Forward this to everyone you care about, I just did.

Back to School, Work & Frozen Dinners

August has been an extremely busy yet wonderful month for our family! We attended a wedding in Nor Cal, Mylani started 4th grade, Aleia started daycare, I went back to work, Will went to Mississippi for a war simulation and my sister-in-law and nephew, Tasha and Elijah, came to visit from Cali.

Aleia was 5 weeks old when I decided to take her on her first flight to surprise my cousin Kim at her wedding in Portola Valley, CA. It was a last minute decision to go, but I'm so glad we did because we had a great time with the family and Aleia had a chance to meet her extended family for the first time. The wedding was a beautiful outdoor wedding nestled in the middle of giant redwoods. Kim is a geologist and loves the outdoor so the wedding suited her and her new hubby, Peter, perfectly!

(me with bride & groom, the cousins, second cousin Jordan meets Aleia...I think he's hungry)

Since we were in Nor Cal for a whole 14 hours, I was able to squeeze in time with our friends, the Arns in Napa and the Grays in Richmond, before attending the wedding. They were super short visits (2 hours each) but it was so nice to see Allison (friend from college) and Nathalio (friend from junior high).

(Allison, Chris & their girls, McKenzie burps Aleia, Aleia meets Thalio & Thalio Jr, Stevie & very tired Aleia)

Tasha and Elijah came to stay with the girls and I for the week while Will was in Missisippi. It was a great reunion for the cousins and they had a great time enjoying the last week of summer break together. Tasha even got a chance to check out a local night club and take advantage of the free entry and drinks for being an out-of-state visitor...just a heads up for future visitors from Cali...bring your ID!

(the cousins, Tasha & the kids on a friendly OK croc, Oklahomies - chillin with the sharks)

I started my new HR job with Winnercomm, a multi-media production company this past week. They do a lot of work with ESPN, Outdoor Channel, NFL, etc. It is a fascinating company and I'm looking forward to learning more about the industry. I was able to visit the set of The Big 12: This Week and it was so neat! I better get up to speed on college football real quick.

We're all adjusting to our new work and school schedules...without time to cook we've been dining on fast food and frozen dinners...but I'm sure we'll get into the swing of things soon...especially now that Aleia has started sleeping through the night!!!

Party of "9" Please

Last week, our family of 5 was joined by my mom, dad and brothers, Johnny & Teo (a.k.a. My) from Cali. This was their first time in Oklahoma so they had lots to see and do. OK...so probably not too much to see and do but they did make time to explore Tulsa and surrounding areas and for the guys, Twin Peaks. Aleia and I were on house arrest so Mylani and Will took on leading the city tour.



While in OK, my parents prepared multiple meals for us...but it wasn't the Vietnamese home style cooking Will and I were so anxiously awaiting. Being that my mom is super traditional when it comes to afterbirth care and foods, she only made postpartum safe dishes: fish and pork stew (ca/thit kho), steamed veggies, and rice.

In addition to a strict diet, here are some other "Traditional Asian" rituals/remedies necessary afterbirth and according to mom, should continue for at least 6 to 8 weeks:

• Avoid anything with citric acid or sour tasting to avoid bladder control issues.
• Rub eucalyptus or kwan loong oil on arms, legs, and back in the morning and before bed to prevent joint and muscle pains later in life.
• Drink postpartum Laotian tea 5 or 6 times a day to help flush out "bad" blood in uterus.
• Drink postpartum herbal medicine from Chinese Herbal Store 2 or 3 times a day to replenish lost blood from labor.
  
• Avoid anything cold to eat or drink and raw foods to help flattening of belly.
  
• Avoid use of fans other than house A/C to prevent aches and pain.
• Avoid exposure to sun to prevent sun spots and bad skin.
• Put hot water bag on stomach after meals to help flatten belly.
• Avoid touching too much water and frequent baths/showers (I don't remember the reason for this...but its not good for you).
• Use vapor bath with Chinese herbs to cleanse body, tighten and tone face and body skin. After bath, rub body with peppermint cure.

My mom asked that I make sure to pass these instructions onto my younger sisters when they give birth, so I thought I'd include what I learned on a blog for other family and friends as well. I'm not sure how true or relevant these remedies are, but they were practices my great grandmother passed onto my grandmother and from my grandmothers onto my mom.

We closed out the week by celebrating Mylani's 9th birthday. With family in town and new baby, we decided to avoid a big shin dig this year. Mylani didn't mind keeping things simple for her big day, especially after she received a razor scooter from mom and dad. It's a pretty neat scooter that goes approx. 15 mph. Seeing her on the scooter reminds me a lot of the mopeheads in Vietnam...those were much more difficult to ride though.

Lastly, for those interested in updated photos of Aleia...here she is at 4 weeks old.

Introducing the newest Lewis... Aleia Faith!

After 39 weeks of a growing and changing body and the anticipation of another baby, the time finally came for us to welcome our new baby girl, Aleia Faith, "a-lay-a" meaning "high/exalted" or "god's being". Aleia was born on Thursday, July 2 at 4:53 pm. She was immediately described by Dr. Nilson as "tiny" and "hairy", weighing in at 6 pounds 1 ounce and measuring 20 inches long. We were amazed at how beautiful she was and WOW...what a set of lungs!

For those interested here’s the detailed story leading up to and following Aleia's arrival:

6/28 - Returned from 4 days in Dallas for Mylani’s competition.

6/29 - 38.5 week pregnancy check-up. Dr sees my super swollen ankles and feet (this was only morning shot) and how “low” and “ready” baby is. He suggested an induction for 3 days later (6 days before due date) and we said "heck yeah!"

7/2 - Dropped off Mylani at friend's house and headed to hospital. Here’s how the rest of the day went (guys you may want to skip this part):
8:00 Arrived at St. Francis Hospital South in Tulsa ready for procedure. Contrary to the original plan, have changed mind as of the am to proceed WITHOUT an epidural. Reasoning, just wanted to see if I can do it plus I was pushing natural course with the induction anyway. No pain no gain right?
9:00 Started on via IV to help get going. Minor yet consistent contractions start within 20 minutes.
11:00 Still cruising with contractions. Not much pain yet and dilated at 4. Water bag is broken by Dr. Rather painful but quickly done. Still smiling at this point...see photo!
1:00 Contractions super strong. Pain as well as frequency increases over the next 4 hours. Wasn't very nice to my coach, Will. May have gotten very irritable several times in the 3rd and 4th hour. Asked for medication to help with pain. Didn't really helped with pain but made me feel intoxicated (world in a blur, slurry words, calming).
4:00 Dilated at 9 and Dr prepares for final stages of labor. In extreme pain...thinking maybe I should have gone with the epidural but too late now.
4:15 Dilated at 10 and pushing begins. Take extreme pain times 10.
4:52 Just about to give up from exhaustion and pain when out pops hairy head.
4:53 Hello Baby Aleia! Could have been much easier/faster had I gone with the epidural, but so glad I didn't, and got a chance to feel the true pains of child birth this time around...luckily not the 20+ hour version like some women have to go through.

7/3 (3:30am) Mylani bravely volunteers to stay overnight with mom and new sis. After several wake-up cries by Aleia, Mylani wanted to hold Aleia and help sooth little sis back to sleep. Here’s big sis still smiling in the wee hours of the night.

7/4 (3:00pm) Discharged from hospital and returned home at last. Couldn’t wait to show Aleia her room, toys, and brother Bear! I was still getting over post partum fever so Aleia and I didn't get to celebrate the 4th outside with Will, Mylani, and tons of fireworks. Will was so excited to finally use fireworks and shoot rockets in front of our house (not something we were able to do in the last 2 places we’ve lived, OC and SD).
Aleia is now 5 days old and already letting a bit of her personality show. Enjoy these photos we were able to catch in between the constant sleep, eat, and poop routine.

(Thinking about her next meal, Preparing for a karate punch, No milk? I'll just chew on my hand then, Please don't wake me up at 6am for another photo shoot mom!)



We are so grateful to have another beautiful and healthy daughter, and Mylani a little sis to play with, care to, and be a good role model for. We can't wait to have her meet all our family and friends in the months to come...the first wave of visitors from Cali should be arriving any day now.

Our Rising Star...Back from Dallas!

Wow...What an amazing and super busy week we've had in Dallas! Luckily, we did not have to add an early baby arrival to our agenda while at Mylani's much anticipated talent competition. The event started Wednesday evening and ended Sunday morning with the awards ceremony. It was the largest turnout for this event with over 450 participants from age 4 and up.

Each day started around 6:30am and ended anywhere around 10 to 11:30pm. Since Mylani was in the dance and singing competition as well, we had additional wardrobe changes and warm-ups to squeeze in. On Friday alone, we had 7 wardrobe changes as she had to prepare for 7 different events and still had to round up enough energy to perform in the Showcase that evening.

Mylani did so well in her acting, modeling, singing, and dancing competitions that she received a special invite to audition for an upcoming Nickelodeon tv series. This normally does not happen, but since the talent scout was there and they had not found the right actor for the new role yet, Mylani was asked to learn a 2-page script and get video taped performing it. We only had a few hours to prepare and the poor thing was so nervous...not to mention tired from all the other competitions she had to focus on as well. Mylani did come through and had positive feedback from casting team. The audition tape will now be submitted to the casting director for review and we were told they'll let us know. Filming for the series is in LA so we'll have to see how this all transpiers.

In addition to Nickelodeon, Mylani had a lot of interest from agents in New York and Los Angeles for modeling and acting, but mainly for modeling and commercials since she's still so raw in acting. We are working out the details of each of these options over the next few weeks. This is all very exciting and nerve wrecking at the same time, but part of the business as we've learned over the past few days. (Here's a photo of Mylani and Charlie Winfield from Funny Faces agency based out of NY)

Mylani competed against 100 kids in the 8-12 age category (she's 8 for those who didn't know), and took home the following awards:
2nd Place - Swimsuit Runway (Modeling)
2nd Place - Cold Reads (Acting)
3rd Place - Singing
3rd Place - Runway (Modeling)
Showcase Recognition (1 of 18 selected to perform in front of 1000+ audience)

Will and I are so proud of Mylani for working hard over the past few months to prepare for the competition and then coming through when it was her time to shine. Mylani enjoyed being on stage, getting recognized for her talents, and meeting new friends who have similar goals. Now that we're home, she is enjoying some downtime, hanging out with her neighborhood friends, and preparing for arrival of her new baby sister later this week.


(Mylani with Expo friends and acting coach, Aaron Jackson from 90's tv series California Dreams, Getting a good luck kiss from dad before the big Showcase, Boy in blue blazer is Mylani's little crush...he's 14, Cool looking McDonald's we found while driving around Dallas)

Although we do not have a video clip of her performance at the showcase, here's the 2 min version of her qualifying audition. Mylani placed 3rd in youth singer category ages 4-14.

Here's the video clip of Mylani's dance audition. We worked with fellow church member, Jessica Long, to put together this jazz/hip hop routine 3 weeks ago. Alth0ugh Mylani did not place in this event, she did make it to round 2 of auditions.

Baby Preparation...the Countdown Begins

We are now 25 days till "the day" unless of course Aleia decides to come a little early. If she does, we are definitely ready for her. Her room is pretty much complete thanks to the wonderful family and friends we have both near and far. Take a peek into the nursery...we even have a bed set up for the parent that has baby duty for the evening. The walls in the room are rather plain right now but I'm sure we'll have plenty of new baby and family photos to put up shortly.


For those who are wondering how baby and I are doing, we're doing fabulous! Aleia is a little over 6 lbs now and everything seems on course. She is quite a kicker and a very active baby. We are getting ready for Mylani's talent competition in Dalls next week (6/24-6/28) and have a hospital in place should Aleia decide she wants Dallas versus Tulsa as a birth place. How big is the belly? You be the judge...here we are at 36 weeks along.


Thanks again to all that have sent baby Aleia love and kind thoughts with your gifts. We really do appreciate your generosity and hope to share baby photos real soon on the family blog. Keep posted:)