This is my husband, Jeff’s, new car.  This car represents Jeff’s professional and business success and that makes me a proud Chinese wife.  Even though I think this car is overpriced, excessive, and overpriced (did I say that already?!), I love what it represents, and I love that it makes him happy.  As a wife, I want my husband to find success in something he is passionate about.  Being Chinese where good fortune is so highly regarded, success is almost a requirement.  Early in our relationship, a combination of luck and a lot of hard work, I was one of the first employees of a very successful start-up that sold for millions of dollars.  As happy as I was with the success in my career, it put Jeff in my shadow.  As a Chinese wife, I didn’t want him there.  And as a proud Chinese man, I knew Jeff did not want to be there.  I always knew Jeff would do great things.  It took him a little while to find his success and I am so, so…SO proud of him.

Jeff is a police officer.  He realized later in life he wanted to be a policeman.  He was the oldest cadet in the police academy.  Good thing he is young at heart.  This picture is from the day Jeff was sworn in.   He was so happy.  As much as I don’t like he has a dangerous job, I love that he has found something he is so passionate about.

Jeff’s newest business venture is a hot dog shop.  He and two of his friends opened this shop three months ago and it is a big success.  Business has been so good that they are already talking about opening more stores.

No matter how much monetary success Jeff has, I will always be most proud of the dad he is to our kids.

I’ve left my professional career to stay home and raise my kids and take care of Jeff.  It’s been a hard transition to be number two, but I wouldn’t have it any other way because I love being a proud Chinese wife.

Talk soon,
Chrissy xoxo

PS. How does your husband make you proud?

My sister in-law, Melissa, is getting married in June and we went to Atlantic City, NJ for her bachelorette party weekend.  I had not been to a bachelorette party in so long, the last one We stayed at Revel, the newest hotel in Atlantic City.  So new it doesn’t open until Memorial Day weekend.  I had such a fun weekend.  It was nice to only have to dress myself, lounge around and watch TV for more then three minutes, eat food I didn’t cook myself, and spend uninterrupted time with Melissa and the rest of her bachelorette party.  I love my girls endlessly, but it was nice to have some me-time for 2-days.

The first night we had dinner at American Cut, a steakhouse where the head chef is Iron Chef Marc Forgione.  The food was delicious.  We ate filet, porterhouse, and halibut with Sauce Proposal (a sauce so good Chef Marc has received multiple marriage proposals…I ate it, it is that good).  Chef Marc was in the restaurant that day and we pulled him away for a minute in the kitchen to take a picture with Melissa.  He also came to our table to apologize for a steak that was overcooked.

After dinner we headed to watch a cover band play.  They were really good and the songs they sang were awesome.  We all had our shoes off dancing.

Melissa and Cheryl taking a moment on the dance floor to pose for the camera.

And of course if you are partying with Melissa there will be shots at some point during the night.

Something scandalous is going on here.

Melissa and Annmarie not doing something scandalous.

Cheryl and Annmarie lifted Melissa onto the stage (even though there were stairs) so she could sing with the band.

I mean really sing with the band…

Brunch the next day.  We were tired, slow, hungry, and all of us took naps afterwards.

After an afternoon of spa treatments and lounging, we started getting ready for another big night of dinner, drinking, and dancing.  I love this picture of Lynn doing Melissa’s makeup.  They both look so pretty.

Melissa deciding which Louboutin’s to wear.  There is no wrong decision here.

Champagne toast before going out dancing.

We went to Ivan Kane’s Royal Jelly Burlesque Nightclub inside the hotel to dance and party after dinner.

Melissa and Cheryl posing for the camera on the dance floor.

Me with the bride-to-be.

The Long Island Girls!  So much fun partying with them.

Lynn, Jeannie, and Alycia.  Can you believe Jeannie had a baby 10 weeks ago?!

Group shot!  I think I’m the only one not wearing something shiny.

The DJ needed some help with the music.  He didn’t look up once.  If he did, he would have noticed that no one was dancing.  Katie and Sienna got up on stage to help him out and the music was much better.

Melissa and Annmarie.

Kimbie and I.  It was great to hang out with my sister this weekend.

Melissa!  Thanks for a super fun weekend in Atlantic City!  Can’t wait to party like a rock star again at your wedding!

 

About a month ago, 6-month-old Isabella spent five days in the hospital with Respiratory Syncytial Virus or RSV.  When we have a common cold, it most likely is RSV, but for children younger then one, it can be very serious because their lungs are not strong enough to cough out the congestion, so they are usually admitted into the hospital for treatment and monitoring.  I wanted to share my experience so parents will be aware of this illness and know what to expect in the hospital.

Sequence of Events

• Thursday: Isabella had a congested-crackly-junky cough that was getting worse throughout the day.
• Friday: Went to the doctor.  It was just a bad cough.  If I had a nebulizer at home, the doctor would’ve had me use it, but the cough was not bad enough to go out and rent one.  Went home with instructions to water down her milk and formula, steam her in the shower, and use a humidifier.
• Saturday: Spiked a fever over 104 and could not break it with Infant Tylenol.  I called the doctor in the evening and she recommended Advil because it worked better on high fevers.  Fever finally dropped lower then 100.
• Sunday: Even though her fever was hovering around 100, she was very warm and sweaty because she was working hard to breath.  Things were getting worse throughout the day.  She was eating less because it was hard for her to eat and breath at the same time.  In the evening when she was sleeping, she was flush and sweaty from breathing and her chest was pulling hard.  I was going to the doctor first thing in the morning.
• Monday: The doctor took one look at Isabella and knew something was wrong.  She called over to the hospital to let them know we would be coming to be tested for RSV.  Isabella tested positive for RSV.  This, plus her oxygen levels were less then 90 lead to admittance into the hospital.
• Monday – Friday: Isabella and I stayed in a private room.  Since RSV is a virus, there isn’t a prescription to cure it.  The treatment is to help the lungs breath so they can circulate the oxygen and clear out the congestion.  She slept in her car seat because this was the best position for her lungs to breath.  I had to account for the number of ounces she drank, how many pee and poopy diapers, and the nurses weighed her diapers to make sure she was eating and excreting normally.  Isabella received a breathing treatment with a nebulizer and Albuterol and Xopenex solution, steroids to open up her lungs, and oxygen.  An oxygen machine measured her progress of getting better.  We could go home when her oxygen levels were above 90 during the day and night without receiving oxygen.  Because we were in the hospital, her treatments were around the clock.  They started off every three hours and then moved to every four hours as she became better.  By the third day her oxygen was above 90 throughout the day.  During the night, her oxygen levels would dip to the low 80’s and she needed oxygen.  Though this is normal, it was very frustrating when she was feeling much better, getting more active, and we were both anxious to be home.  Finally, the fourth night her oxygen was above 90 without oxygen (Thank Goodness!), and we could go home!

My Personal Notes

• It was scary to see your baby working so hard to breath.  If I did not already have an appointment Monday morning for Isabella’s 6-month check up, I would have gone to the hospital Sunday night.  In hindsight, I should have went to the hospital Sunday night because I knew there was something very wrong with her breathing.
• The hardest part of the hospital stay was watching her get an IV put in.  Baby’s veins are small and move fast and it is not unusual to have multiple attempts.  Thankfully, the nurse got it in the first attempt.
• This is hard on a parent both physically and emotionally.  It is physical because you do not sleep.  You are too busy taking care of your baby, giving her nebulizer treatments, and looking for signs she is getting better.  It is emotional because you are worried, you are claustrophobic being confined to a hospital room and floor, and you are anxious to go home.
• You get a reality check being on a Pediatric floor of a hospital.  There are many babies and children that stay in hospitals much longer then five days and have treatments much stronger then a nebulizer.  You realize how blessed you are.

Here are some pictures of our stay.

The oxygen monitor was taped to Isabella’s toe.

To keep the IV in, she had a little baby splint.

Bedhead!

Isabella taking her nebulizer treatment.

Isabella feeling better and eating her cookie.

Some mornings my grouchy husband on his way home from work will stop at the local coffee shop, JJ Beans, for a hot drink and he will also bring me a chai tea latte.  He is not a man of many words, and most of what he says is grouchy, but when I see this drink on the counter, I hear in my head him saying “I love you”, “you are such a good wife”, “thank you for taking such good care of my kids”, and at least ten other terms of endearment every wife wants to hear from their husband.  Can you believe this small, small, small gesture of thoughtfulness can say so much?  I have everything to make this drink at home, but I would rather wait for him to bring me one.

JJ Beans…if you are telling him to bring this home for me…don’t tell me!  I like thinking my grouchy husband is thinking of me.

Talk soon, Chrissy

A little while ago we made a trip out to Queens to visit our good friends, Anne and her daughter, Avery.  We always look forward to visiting with these girls because I get to chat and catch up with Anne, who I consider a sister, and Mimi can play with Avery.  Moysee (one of Isabella’s 10 nick names) doesn’t have a friend to visit with yet so we are hopeful Anne will have a second baby soon!

Now that Avery and Mimi are getting older, they can play so much better with each other.  They have all of the same interests, cooking, babies, play doh…it’s a match made in heaven.  Anne transformed some baby blankets to baby carriers so these girls could really be mommies to their babies.

Anne and her husband, Michael, are doing a full renovation on a home they bought at the end of last year.  It is almost finished.  Just the kitchen and a top to bottom cleaning are pretty much left to do.  I am so excited for them and cannot wait for them to move in.  Like most renovations, it’s been a headache, but I tell Anne it’s all worth it and she will forget all about it once she is living in her new home.

I do not follow sports, I am not athletic (my sisters tell me yoga and running do not make me athletic), and only look forward to going to see a game in person because I can throw peanut shells on the floor.  As “un-sporty” as I am, I know who Jeremy Lin is, I know where he grew up, his parent’s names, the number of siblings he has, where he went to college, that he is a Christian, his NBA team, his position, and the reason for “Linsanity”.  And..I have to admit I have a little bit of Linsanity.  My Linsanity has nothing to do with how well he is doing in basketball.  My Linsanity is because I am a Chinese mother with two girls and hope one day (twenty years from now) they will find someone as talented, humble, and genuine as he is.  My girls are much much younger then Jeremy Lin but if he is willing to wait a little bit (or a lot a bit) he could be with one of my princesses.

Olivia is the closest to Jeremy Lin in age, she’s 3.5, he’s 24…only 20.5 years apart.  She is a true princess, even with her strawberry mustache and messy hair.

Moy Moy (妹妹）is a princess in training.  She is currently learning to control her drool.

I mean, Jeremy, these girls are worth the wait…

Every Chinese mother has a little bit of Linsanity.  We all want our children to be with someone that will take care of them as good as we do.  Thank you Jeremy Lin for being a role model for our future son-in-laws.