Finally, some significant drop in oil price! Crude dropped more than $10 in two days. While most people watch the miserable traders in delight, one has to remember that this might be another nightmare for millions of families.

Like the once red-hot stocks and housing markets, this is likely to be another example of bursting bubble created by zealous speculators. It reminds me of the “Great Leaps” led by Mao in the 60s Communist China. Millions of people died as a result of the craziness. How many people will be put into poverty this time? Only time can tell.

Speculation is intrinsic to any free market; but it seems people all of a sudden start to speculate too optimistically, too boldly, and too much. Why? Why now?

Is it somehow related to the “secret” sentiment? Think rich and you will get rich; you’re what you think you are; thought creates reality…

Or, are we just getting too impatient and too greedy?

July 1, 2008.

William has finally turned 6 - a wonderful age full of wonderful ideas. Here are some of his noteworthy comments/questions –

1. (Saw Daddy insist on DIYing the brake pads for his car and fall into deep trouble) “Daddy, I wish I can make a car that has a lot of magnet in it. That way it will fix itself when the wheel is broken.”

2. (When Daddy told him he would grow old one day and would need his son to drive him around) “Daddy, I wish I can make a car that can drive itself – it can make turns and see things – so you can go anywhere you want when you’re old.”

3. “Daddy, I wish I know the magic to make you small…” “What? If you make me small, you have to carry me all day long…” “No! I will make you small when you’re too old - that way you will always be big and strong.”

4. (I have to sometimes play the “bad guy” at home when William is not behaving.) “William, remember – Mommy is the queen of this family. You just have to listen – got it?” I said to him one Sunday afternoon. “Got it Mommy!” he answered. Then he went to Daddy, “Daddy, can I ask you a question?” “What is it?” asked Daddy. William looked at me, and then whispered something in Daddy’s ear. Daddy almost laughed his head off – William asked “Daddy, when will Mommy become so old that she is not the queen of the family?”

5. “Daddy, why fires need oxygen? Do they breathe like people?” “Fires don’t breathe; but they need oxygen because burning is reaction that requires oxygen.” “Oh – so if you take oxygen away the fire will get cold and die?” “Yes.” “Does the Sun have an atmosphere?” “No.” “Then why does the Sun’s fire need no oxygen?” “…”

6. “Daddy, does my brain control everything I do?” “Yes.” “Oh, that’s really weird… Look Daddy! I am not thinking anything right now – how come I can still walk?” “…” “Does my blood vessel control walking? Maybe just a little bit?”

This weekend is an important day for the family - my husband as finally finished his MBA! Even though he often tells people that it is a piece of cake; I know very well that it is anything but easy.

He took the “hybrid” version of the program - 1/3 of the classes were on ground, the remaining were online. I think 95% of his homework were done during the early hours of the morning, oftentimes between 2am and 4am. It was especially hard when Isabella was sick and demanded a lot of attention at night…

So - congratulations Daddy! A job well done (and hope you can put those skills you learned into good use; also, since you now have a lot of free time, spend some with the kids :-))

This coming Saturday, we will celebrate the achievement of the first MBA in the family!

Just did the most critical 5-month ultrasound. All went well. The nurse actually started my session ahead of the schedule - what a miracle! Looks like as long as one keeps having baby anything is possible

It’s a boy - with very large feet, i think. So my Mom was right; my hubby and his sister were wrong; and William’s wish didn’t come true (he wanted another sister).

For some reason, I feel more excited this time - more excited than when I had Issabella. My hubby said it was because we were very well prepared and planned for the second one. With William and this new baby (yeah, we have to find a name for him :), there were plenty of uncertainty.

Uncertainty. Surprises. Excitement. The essential ingradients of life.

On our way home, we ordered a lot of carry-out food and a HUGE icecream cake.

Somehow I feel a sense of liberation. No more weight control, for another year, at least!

I am expecting…

Our 5-year-old still has a bed-wetting problem, especially when he is too tired from his day time activities. Here is one of those stories according to Daddy.

It was a Sunday night, after a really long day (visiting friends, late lunch in a newly opened dim-sum place, lots of playing and running in the park). As usual, Daddy told William a story to help him sleep. It turned out they both fell into sleep almost instantly.

Then William peed in his dream…

Since the big guy was lying next to the little guy, and since the big guy was heavier, most of the liquid crawled to the big guy’s pants.

“No!!!!” The big guy finally woke up and screamed.

“What Daddy?” The little guy woke up as well, a little confused by what he saw.

“Daddy - did you wet my bed?”

“NO, I didn’t!”

“Then why are your pants so wet?”

“Why? Because YOU peed in your bed! And not only that - you wet my pants, too!” The big guy was clearly upset.

The little guy thought for a while, shook his head and said, “Daddy, you REALLY shouldn’t have worn those pants!”

“William - I don’t think THAT is the real problem!” said the big guy, “The real problem is SOMEONE PEED IN HIS BED!”

Silence. Then, in a very concerned voice, the little guy broke the silence, “Daddy - you REALLY need to talk to Mommy…”

“Why is that?”

“Three bottles! Remember? Mommy gave me three bottles of juice today! Who can hold up that much water?!”

He was right - I did took three small bottles of his favorite juice to the dim-sum place.

Nice try William… and we still love you

Received a phone call from someone I didn’t know.

At first, I thought it was a tele-marketer. I was about to hang up; then I realized I liked her voice. It was a woman, with very gentle voice. She sounded a little timid for some reason.

“I don’t think I met you,” I said, “Can you remind me?”

“Uh… You came to our clinic the other day…”, her voice was almost shaky.

“clinic? For what?” I asked.

“Uh.. You visited our clinic… Are you going to use our service - we are the family plan clinic…”

“Oh! The family plan service!” I remembered.

I told her about our decision.

“Congratulations!” She said.

We chatted a little before hanging up.

I liked her voice. It was very cheerful in the end.

For some reason, being reminded of the difficult decision-making time made me happy. I felt proud.

I don’t think I am political at all on this issue. Pro-life and pro-choice probably will continue to fight for another million years. I am lucky because as it turned out life is my choice in this case. Being through all this struggle, I can now better understand the arguments of both sides. I can appreciate both sides’ agony. I think I would admire a woman who has gone through the same struggle, regardless of her final decision.

Those who live through hard times deserve respect; to be fair, by-standers should keep their mouths shut - at least they should stop pointing fingers.

Anyways, I now feel pretty happy and proud of myself (and my husband). No, we still don’t know how to handle this. It’s not important - isn’t life uncertain by default?

I feel a little sad for the lady who called me. I wonder what she really thinks about her daily job. It’s not healthy to do things that you don’t like; and it must be really terrible to do things that you’re ashamed of. It must really hurt to hide that joyful voice all day long…

I want to tell her that maybe she should change her job.

On a 2nd thought, what difference can I make? Plus, who give me the right to tell her how to spend her life?

I am just a pregnant woman. I am expecting…

Believe it or not, I am pregnant again.

I am one of the creatures who enjoy daydreaming; but I have never pictured myself having three kids - until a few days ago. This time it’s real.

God I can’t believe this is happening to me and I don’t like it for the following 10 reasons:

1. I am too busy to have a third child.
2. I have just managed to lose all the baby fat I put on with #2.
3. I can’t afford the demanded resource (time, energy, money, …).
4. I don’t like it.
5. I don’t like it.
6. I don’t like it.
7. I don’t like it.
8. I don’t like it.
9. I don’t like it.
10. I don’t like it.

I wish I could punch my husband in the face, but he was too tall (so I punched him on the chest).

Then I realized it was not his fault. It was not anyone’s fault. It doesn’t matter!

What matters is how to deal with it.

Well said - but how?

It’s funny we humans sometimes create our own problems. My friends in China think I am crazy to even worry about it. To them, this is a no-brainer.

Same issue, different level of difficulty…

I must be the reason for the difference.

I wish I (and my husband) could stop thinking too much. It’s not a baby yet. It cannot feel anything. It’s like a tiny blob of tissue - except that one day it can grow into a baby, a cheerful girl like Isabella, or a smart boy like William…

Oh God this is soooooo difficult!

Why do I have to go through this?

I don’t like it.

Long time no posting.

Got really busy, but that’s no excuse. I know I could have posted more frequently.

I can’t believe I have never posted anything about Isabella. Isn’t it funny? She is younger, cuter, and needs my attention more - why in the world have I been ignoring her on my blog?

I see many reasons:

1. She is too good - so easy going that she doesn’t catch a lot attention.
2. She is too young to express any noteworthy ideas.
3. Her competitor is too strong - William is at a stage that is full of surprises.
4. She is the 2nd - (almost) nothing is new.
5. Logically, the first time feeling cannot be reproduced; and a lot of that went with William.

… …

Many reasons to love Isabella more.

I think she probably will grow into a comedian - she is very funny!!

(I promise I will start blogging about Isabella)

William and my husband have been doing something quite exciting lately - a comet named Holmes exploded in the sky a few weeks ago. Somehow, this made the comet a million times brighter and appear to be half the size of a full moon. Ever since the dad-and-son science team learned the news and spotted the fuzzy circular blob in the sky, the backyard had turned into an exciting place: chairs, binoculars, star charts, misplaced shoes, and unfinished food…

The two would spend half an hour every night in the cold after dinner.

Every night.

Last night, after another session of star watching, the two entered the living room. I could feel the cold air lingering around their bodies as they shut the door behind.

“Daddy, that was so much fun! I love comet Holmes - it’s a magic!”

“Great! I am glad to hear that, son…”

“Daddy, I love you.”

“Great! I am glad to hear that.” Someone is trying to put an end to the conversation and send the other one to bed.

“Daddy - can you stop eating?”

“Uh??” That was an odd question.

“Why stop eating? People have to eat to grow. If Daddy stops eating, Daddy won’t be able to grow…”

“Daddy - I don’t want you to grow because if you grow too old you will die. I don’t want you to die…”

Oh, my God! My husband looked at me, not sure how to respond.

“Uh… you know, William, everybody has to grow old and die, even the stars and comets…” Well, that’s deep for a 5 year old!

“Uh… you see - one day Daddy will die and you will be by yourself - but you will be OK, because you are so strong and tall and big and smart…” Someone wished he knew the subject better so that he didn’t have to mumble.

“No, Daddy! I don’t want you grow and die! If you die I will punch myself and break my skull and then I will die, too!”

Lots of hugs…

Long time no update…

We just finished a week-long family vacation in Las Vegas - quite a feat if you consider the “team”: 5-year-old William, 10-month-old Isabella, my parents (both in their 60s), my hubby (who doesn’t like asking for directions and believes he can “eventually” find anything by randomly driving/walking around). On top of everything, the temperature reached 3 digits all week - as high as 114F!

Good news is that we are all back to California and appreciate the mild climate much more ^_^.

One lesson we learned from the trip is that you should beware of what you teach your children. It may come back and bite you when you’re least expected.

William likes to play with the spoons and cups in the restaurants. To help him behave, my husband once pointed to the ceiling camera and told him that someone was watching him.

“William, be very careful. If you break the spoon, the police will get you.”

That worked. We were happy - well, until we were in Vegas.

As we passed by the ground level casino, William suddenly turned around and yelled “Be very careful Daddy! There are lots of cameras!! The police will get you!”

All the gamblers stopped what they were doing, to pay homage to probably the best known casino cheater in the nation. A security guard standing nearby stared at us with a strange look on his face…

It took us two days to correct the embarassing habit - by telling William that he should whisper when he spotted a camera.

“If you say it too loud, the person watching will hear you and think you did something wrong; then the police will get you.”

All went well, until we were about to leave.

It was early morning. We were in a crowded, unusually quiet elevator when William pulled my husband’s hand and said, in a small but clearly audible voice, “Daddy, be very careful! There is a camera right over your head…”

For the remaining of the ride, my husband had at least half of the space in the elevator. I should have let him take the stroller and the bulky diaper bag…