Random Brain Dump

A rarity: we started this past Saturday morning earlier than usual. It was a nice brisk winter morning, wasn’t very cold. After a hearty breakfast at Hobee’s, we headed out to the Children’s Museum in downtown San Jose. It was nice being early birds for once, there wasn’t the usual crowd to fight through. A few minutes into it however, Suzanne began feeling ill. She felt bad enough that we had to abruptly pack up & leave for home.

Later that afternoon, the weather worsened but we braved the rain back to the museum with the mom resting at home. The girls had a blast with all the exhibits, especially with the ever-popular bubble display and face painting. They were well-behaved so I didn’t have troubles without their mommy’s help. We stayed until closing time and by this time, the rain got even heavier and made me regret for parking a bit further away to save a $5 parking fee.

As we got off 280 on Stevens Creek, we came across a man holding a “Homeless, Need Help” sign. I felt bad for the guy for having to brave the cold rain. He looked particularly pathetic and he reminded me of a Cowboy Junkies’ song called “Cause Cheap Is How I Feel”:

“And when a bum asks you for a quarter, you give a dollar. If he’s out tonight, he must be truly down.”

I pulled a few bucks out of my wallet, handed to the guy and told him to take care. As I pulled away, Katelyn was puzzled as to what I was doing and asked me who the guy was and why I gave him money. I explained to her that unlike us, he probably doesn’t have a place to come home to and that he’s probably hungry. I explained that I felt bad that he’s out in the rain and the cold, that I gave him the money so he can buy food for himself.

Through the rear-view mirror, I saw Katelyn was listening intently and occasionally sat up & looked back at the guy. She remained quiet for a while and was obviously thoughtful. As I turned into our neighborhood, she said quietly:

“Daddy, I think you’re very nice.”

I’m normally up with the kids in the morning, and so I usually get the task of getting the kids ready. When it comes to doing their hair, they usually tell me how to do their hair– be it just brushing, a simple pony tail or “funny hair” as Katelyn calls it (pig-tails). My aunt who takes care of the kids sometime braid their hair for school.

So as of late, Allison prefers her hair braided. This is a problem for me because Allison’s hair is very thin (as is everything else with her). Last but not least, braiding is always challenging for my big fat fingers. My attempts always end up looking a bit weird. 🙁

Yesterday morning, again Allison asked her hair to be braided. Uh oh… I tried to talk her out of it. “Are you sure Allison? Wouldn’t you like funny hair?” I asked, hoping for a nod. But no luck– she insisted braiding. So I finally pleaded to her: “sorry Allison, Daddy is not good at braiding your hair. I can’t do it.”

To that, Allison replied:

“But daddy, you try your best okay?”

Ouch, “use that one back at me won’t you” I thought. Can’t say no to that! So Allison patiently waited as my fat fingers going through her hair. When I was done, sure enough, her braid looked weird as pictured above! But Allison didn’t care, she happily trotted off to show off her braided hair to her sister and her mom.

Recognizing I need help, I google’d around for instructions. Here’s illustrated instructions I you’re braiding-challenged like me.