A New Chapter

Yesterday,  I took my 2 minions ( I mean,  children)  on a Costco run. Now that they are teens and old enough not to ride in the front of the giant Costco shopping cart (man, they were doubly heavy back in the day!) they are great for manual labor!  All I have to do now is gracefully glide behind the cart gesturing with my magic wand / index finger at whatever I need and it magically appears in the cart.  A huge package of toilet paper?... shwing!  A small pillow sized bag of broccoli?.... zing! A bushel of Fuji apples?.... ping! Easy!  

Actually, that's not how it happens at all.  In reality, the only thing on their teenage Costco radar is the sample carts! The only gesture I make as they hustle towards the beckoning aromas is a frantic wave of the fingers... Can you get one for me too???

We were on a mission yesterday. I have officially entered a new chapter in the book of "Life of Mother".  It is "Mother of College Student". This, I have found out quite quickly, is the sister of "Mother of a Newborn".  How so, you may ask?   THE AMOUNT OF  MONEY NEEDED!!!!  During both those chapters of my life, there have been a sudden spike in the amount of money draining from my bank account.

The first time, as a newborn, it was quite a shock, even though friends have warned me. "It's like an endless money pit!" Besides the usual diapers, formula, necessities; there is also the need for extras such as baby clothes (that are just SO CUTE!! ) and paraphernalia that in the end, just stayed in boxes.  Baby wipe warmer? Never used it. The thing that turns smelly  old diapers into sealed packaged sausages?  Never even took it out of the box.  Luckily, I was able to return it even after 4 months.  Thank goodness I was wise enough to start saving for their college funding right when they were born. I thought, "I was thrown for a loop this first time around. Next time, 18 years later, I'll be ready!!"

Those 529 plans are wonderful. Socking away a monthly amount really made sense. And if it's in-state, even better! Parents.... it's never too late to start! Every time it's their birthdays,  Christmas, Chinese New Year; people will always ask, "What do they like? What do they want?" My answer would always start with, "Well,.... they have everything they need already,... but they DO have a college fund that you can contribute to... only if you want to."  No one has ever taken on that choice except for my Dad who never knows what to get them but it's all added up nicely 18 years later. The magic of compounding interest is a topic I discuss with the teens every month when the 529 statements come in.

So our trip was all about getting a new laptop for college. Bits, Bytes, Ram, Core, Memory, Gigs.. Those are all foreign words to me. It was like when we were buying a minivan. Just give me the one with the easiest ride and the biggest engine and I'll be fine. This time, at Costco, at the computer counter, all these lights, buttons and screens!  What to do? Which one to pick? How to decide? Quick, find someone in a Costco red vest! Not surprisingly, I had a misconception of what a computer geek looked like. I always thought the computer geeks were a group of 20 or 30 year olds, and depending on if you're a hipster geek or a nerdy geek, the hair length would differ. Glasses?  Perhaps. Nowadays, there are geeky glasses that are non-prescription so one can never tell.

Mr Costco Red Vest Computer Guy was actually around the same age as me. How embarrassing that I'm not as technologically up to date. My husband asked me to get model numbers, specs and prices so that he can compare it to other stores. In my mind, Costco is pretty hard to beat. I don't have time for all this running around, comparing and researching all this stuff.   I gave Mr Red Vest Techie Guy  the tech requirements for the classes and he pointed to a computer. This is one that you would get your own children? Yes. Sold! Easy enough. Onto the walk-in freezer for milk! Where are those teens when you need them for muscle? Oh wait, is that a sample of salsa I see? Yoohoo... children! Make sure you get me one too!

My Dentist is Better Than Your Dentist!

One of the best things I like about being a dentist is catching up with my patients.  Most of them have been coming to see me for over 10 years.  I get to meet their friends, co-workers and family.  We chat about upcoming vacations, road trips, graduations, new motherhood, dads teaching their kids to ride a bike and grandchildren.  We love laughing at fun moments of our lives as we grow older together.

This most recent article I wrote for one of the Japanese newspapers highlights one of those particular fun moments I had with one of my patients.  Read and enjoy!

My Dentist Is Better Than Yours!

Today I saw Mr P today; he was one of my first patients when I started as a dentist. He asked how my kids were.  This patient had known me before I was a Mom.  He was surprised to hear that my kids are now 16 and 17 years old. Wow!  It really puts things in perspective of how long I’ve been a dentist.  He laughed and told me I still look the same.  I laughed also and told him likewise. We both know that we’re lying to each other!  20 years is 2 decades!  Gray hairs, wrinkles, it’s all OK and part of living a long happy life!

We both remembered that when I was initially working at an office on the west side, he had been coming as a patient for a few years when I asked him if his new wife wanted to be a patient at my office as well.  He said he had asked her but she didn’t want to leave her dentist.  “No, I would never leave my dentist.  My dentist is better than yours! She’s the BEST!”, his wife said.  “Oh no!”, my patient replied, “MY dentist is SO much better than YOURS! She’s the VERY best!  I’m NEVER leaving my dentist!” The newlyweds argued back and forth and finally agreed not to change dental office but to stay with their own “very best” dentist.

It wasn’t until a few years later when I changed offices and am now working with Dr F that we realized a very funny coincidence!  When I left the west side office, a lot of my patients had followed me to this new office and one of those was Mr P.  After his first appointment at this new office, he went home and together with his wife, realized that now both their “very best” dentists are together in the same office!  I told Dr F the coincidence and she said it made sense. She had also asked Mrs P if she would like to introduce her husband to the office and she said he had refused saying that he would NEVER leave his dentist for another one.  That was 8 years ago and now, Mr P, Mrs P and their 6-year-old daughter, Miss P, are all patients here and they tell everyone they come to the VERY BEST dental office!  

Chinese New Year SAVE!! Table for 2.... or more: Dong Po Pork 东坡肉

 Chinese New Year Fail..... Chinese New Year Save!



This is what happens when you're out of touch with your Chinese roots.

My Dad is staying with my brother this weekend  and my MIL is in Cali again.  We have Chinese New Year dinner plans for this coming Sunday so I thought I was all set. I don't have a Chinese calendar around so I had to look up when the actual New Year Day was.



OK , it's Saturday. A long ways off.



After teaching at NYU Dental School in the morning on Friday, I went to my private dental office to do some leftover paperwork. The oral surgeon's office had left me a message on the machine but when I called him back, no one was in the office. Strange, I thought, they're usually the busiest on Fridays. It didn't even occur to me that since they are Chinese, they were closed for Chinese New Year's Eve. On hind thought, everyone leaves early to celebrate with their families!



There was also  a social gathering at the school in the evening so I went with a co worker and had a bit of food and drinks. I called and told the kids they were on their own for dinner. By the time I got home, they had eaten already and I wasn't very hungry so I had a cookie and a pack of seaweed snacks and a handful of sunflower seeds. Hubby had eaten some salmon he found in the fridge and my son had eaten a pack of instant ramen with radish and shiitake mushrooms. Daughter had bought herself a fresh pineapple and cut it up to snack on.  We ate our mish-mosh dinner in front of the TV watching "House, MD" on Netflix.



It wasn't until later on in the evening when I was checking my email and checking FB that I saw everyone's Chinese New Year dishes!  OH DEAR!  That was supposed to be TONIGHT?! What a Chinese New Year Fail.



BUT, WAIT.... looking back at all the random things we ate, there is HOPE!  After all, seaweed is supposed to be an auspicious food.  So is the shiitake mushrooms..... and so is fish!!  Somehow, I hope the pineapple fits in too.



This morning, I felt bad as a Chinese Wife and Mom thinking that I failed to impart some culture into our already Americanized family. Ever since my Mom passed we haven't really been doing anything really deeply cultural. Dad doesn't seem too interested in it unless we are into it.



Sitting in bed, I had a flash of inspiration!  Actually, it was in the form of a post from Wendyinkk's blog , "Table for 2... or more".  She always has great easy recipies. I came across this yummy recipe for pork belly.  Table for 2.... or more: Dong Po Pork 东坡肉  Hopeful that our local Chinese supermarket was open, I ran out and got the pork belly. The rest of the ingredients were at home, surprisingly.



I would post a photo but hers came out so much prettier!  I did mine in the slow cooker and then transferred it to the steamer for the last step.  I also did 2 dozen of hard boiled eggs to soak in the rest of the flavor overnight in the slow cooker. I'll have something to bring over to my brother's for Chinese New Year's dinner. Yummy pork belly (Thanks Wendy!) AND yummy eggs!



After all, that's what Chinese New Year's is all about, spending time with family, friends (even if it's a long distance blogger friend), and EATING! This has NOT been a Chinese New Year Fail, it's totally a Chinese New Year SAVE!!!



Happy Chinese New Year, everyone! Wishing you all the best things for 2017 and beyond!

Click on the link above  for Wendy's recipe for the pork belly and other delish dishes!

Healthy Homemade Christmas Cookies

Tis the season for giving! With my family, it's also the season for homemade Christmas cookies.
Here is the latest article I wrote for Weekly Biz Japanese Newspaper. Read and enjoy!

Healthy Homemade Christmas Cookies

Every year for Christmas, there is the big problem of giving gifts. I want every gift to be thoughtfully picked out. My daughter tells me that that’s too much stress. Her idea of Christmas gifts is always healthy homemade Christmas cookies. She will package them in pretty boxes for each individual person. She will make hand painted tags also. I think next year I will “order” some of her cookies as gifts as well.

As the holidays are coming around, it’s important to stay with your healthy habits.  Too many people end up eating a lot of snacks and junk food.

“It’s because of the holidays! Christmas and New Year comes around only once a year! I’m allowed to have fun!” they tell me. OK. Junk food is allowed but only in moderation. And if you are out partying late into the night, please remember to brush your teeth and floss before falling into bed.

Last night, I saw my daughter starting to make her Christmas cookies. She had a blender and a big bowl out and mixed in carrots, apples, oatmeal, peanut butter and ripe bananas. They smelled really good coming out of the oven. While they were cooling on the kitchen counter and while she was not looking, I took one and started eating it. Not bad at all! A little bit on the crunchy side but quite tasty!

As I was brushing the crumbs off my mouth, my daughter turns to look at me and asks, “How did it taste, Mommy?” I told her with a proud smile, “Very good! Very healthy! Did you use a recipe? Who did you make these for?”  She smiled at me and said,” First of all, Mommy, you should have asked before you took a cookie. Second of all, it IS very healthy. I used all healthy natural ingredients. Third of all, I don’t have a recipe. I just threw everything together. But the most important answer to your question of who they are for…. They are for Auntie’s dogs. These are DOG cookies that you just ate.” OK, I should have asked her first. I will be sure to next time.

Hope your Christmas and New Year will be happy, healthy, full of friends and family  and after reading this, also with a big smile on your face! 

Kids grown up so fast!  This weekend, we did some shopping at Costco (My fav store!) and as I was getting a shopping cart, (those things are humongous!) with a double baby seat in the front (because I guess everyone who shops at Costco must have a large family with 2 little kids close in age? Works for me!)  I had some reminiscing moments of when they were a lot younger and we went shopping. I DO love those double seats in the front of the carts because it allows 2 little kids to sit side by side or one kid to sit in the middle. There's always leg holes for everyone.

When they were a little older, things got less roomier in the front seat. At times, there was bickering and sometimes, because they were almost the same size, things got physical between them.
This new article for the Japanese newspaper, New York Biz is a nod to those good ole times of warding off unwanted closeness. Read and enjoy!

Don’t Touch Me!

Over the weekend, I went shopping at Costco with my kids. As I took a shopping cart to go inside, I reminded them that once they were so small that both of them could fit in the double front seat of the cart. When they got older and bigger, sometimes they would complain and argue with each other. “Stay on your side of the cart! I feel your leg next to mine!”  “Mom! He’s touching me! Stop touching me!”   That would continue until I tell them I would separate them and one of them would have to sit in Grandma’s shopping cart. That usually stopped the fighting and I could shop in peace and quiet.

Having more than one toothbrush in your bathroom is a similar situation. Don’t let them touch each other. Having enough space between toothbrushes can prevent bacteria from spreading from one toothbrush to the other.

 Having the toothbrushes separated also allows them to dry properly between uses.  Always remember to shake your toothbrush as dry as possible before putting it away.  

If possible, don’t put a toothbrush cover over your toothbrush. It doesn’t allow it to dry properly.  Only use a toothbrush cover when you are travelling to keep it clean in your luggage.

 Make sure you’re also rinsing out all the toothpaste from the bristles.  A wet toothbrush makes it easier for bacteria to grow.

Now that my kids are older, they are friendlier towards each other.  I’m glad for that! Toothbrushes that grow up together on your bathroom counter can be brothers and sisters or friends but no hugging allowed! 

Teeth, Teens, Roosters and Owls

I have always expected my kids to have similar likes and dislikes and similar personalities.  Why not? Same parents, born in the same month, they looked exactly the same when they were born,... (The doctor handed Harrison to me and the first thing I thought was, "Hmmm, you look familiar. I've definitely met you before!")   After the first day, that's where it ended. Their personalities have veered off in different directions since then.

This month's article is here! Enjoy reading ! (BTW, birds don't have teeth. The closest they have to a tooth is something on their beak to help them break out of their egg shell as chicks. I think it's called an egg-tooth? )

Teens, Teeth, Roosters and Owls

Now that my 2 kids are teenagers, I realize that I have a rooster and I have an owl.   

Ever since they were babies, my daughter has preferred to stay up late at night. Putting her to bed has often ended in tears and arguments. As much as she did not like to go to sleep when she should, Mommy always wins so she is in bed with the door closed and the lights shut.  She also prefers to wake up later in the morning. Waking her up in the morning at a normal time is like waking up a dead person. Somehow, she never hears the alarm. It will ring and ring until it turns off by itself. It’s been like that for years. She is my owl.  

My son, on the other hand, has always been one to sleep early. Late in the evening, he will yawn, stretch, take a shower, clean up and brush his teeth, say good night to everyone and go to bed by himself. No arguing, no angry looks from Mommy, it’s that simple with him. In the morning, he will wake up usually before his alarm goes off, getting out of bed cheerfully, he will try to wake everyone else in the family as well. He is my rooster.

There was a research paper done in Sweden that studied teenagers and their rate of developing cavities as it relates to their lifestyle.  They have found that the risk of developing cavities was almost 4 times as high with teenagers who are owls as it was with roosters.  Owls brush their teeth infrequently, tending to skip breakfast and snack more often between meals. Roosters start their day earlier and end their day earlier so they have more time to stick with daily routines like proper brushing at night.

I know that lifestyles can be changed.  When school starts again in September, my rooster child will be ready for school in the morning, brushed up, changed and have eaten breakfast. My owl child will be running out the door with her book bag dangling from her arms, hopefully having eaten something and hopefully not wearing pajamas!

While they are still living at home, I will still enforce good oral hygiene habits but once they are away for college, they will be on their own and hopefully the research will prove to be wrong. I hope both my rooster and my owl will have cavity free teeth for the rest of their lives!

Teenage Problems!

Being a Mom to 2 teenagers can be both exhausting as well as rewarding. Thank goodness they are going through their teenage years together so they complain to each other and get advice from each other at the same time. It's interesting to hear them talk to each other about their crushes and friends at school.  I try to be there on the sidelines as guidance to the advice-giving. They will often ask for each other's advice before they approach me.  It's usually in the evenings after dinner, after their HW is completed and after they've practiced their piano or guitar.

They come into my room after a shower with their hair wet and in pajamas and sit on my bed.  It usually begins like this... "Mommy, you know when...." Those are precious moments when I forget that they are coming into young adulthood and I see them as little kids again asking for Mom's advice.

The latest article I wrote this month for New York Biz Japanese Newspaper is about TEENAGE PROBLEMS.  Now all teenagers have these problems but for this teenager, these problems are as real and as big as ever. Read and enjoy!

Teenage Problems

For readers who have been enjoying my monthly column, you have read that my son asked for braces a few years ago.  Most teenagers tell their parents they DO NOT want braces. Back then, he was worried that with spaces in his teeth, the girls would not want to dance with him during the school dance. But now, he’s wondering when he will get his braces off.

“Mommy, I have all 3 horrible teenager things happening to me at once.” He complained to me last week. “What do you mean by horrible teenager things?” I asked. He explained, “Glasses, acne and braces.” For a few seconds, I just didn’t know how to answer him. “OK, braces are because you wanted your smile to look good. Glasses are because our family does not have perfect vision. Acne is because…you’re a teenager.”  Gee, I don’t remember going through all this stress starting high school. Or maybe because it was such a long time ago that I’ve forgotten?

Teenagers that get braces often ask how long it will take. The answer is usually an approximate time.  It depends on how easy the teeth are to move and how much movement is needed.  Appointments are often set about a month apart to allow for correct movement; not too fast, not too slow. Sometimes, teeth need to be extracted in order to have the necessary space to fix crowding.  Some types of movement are harder than others.  Closing spaces are usually harder to fix than crowding.

The time to start braces is also different. Some cases are better started off earlier when the child still has some baby teeth. Some cases are better when all the adult teeth come in.

If I notice kids’ adult teeth coming in crooked or if their parents have had braces, chances are, that child will need braces to have a perfect straight smile. A child that has regular dental appointments can be checked more often so potential problems can be fixed early sometimes even avoiding braces.

Luckily for my son, his braces will be finished before summer. His acne is going away now that he is older.  At least that will be 2/3 of his teenage problems solved. Let’s see what we can do about the last teenage problem.  I had promised him that if I don’t have to complain about his messy room all summer, he will be allowed to get contacts. Let’s see if that will happen before high school start!