Why I Hate Childhood Asthma Reason #17873

Why I Hate Childhood Asthma Reason #17873: This overnight bag Pink packs with a stuffed animal, some books, and a blanket every time she gets a cold.

Sometimes it sits like this next to my dresser for a few days as we wait and watch and wonder if we will need to take a very-late-night/very-early-morning trip to the ER. And, sometimes she even gets to unpack it without needing to use it.

But, other times...

Other times, she ends up down in the red zone so deep and so fast that we find ourselves rushing to pack it so she has something to comfort her during the seemingly endless ER waits.

One day we will get this asthma back under control, but for now, I think I'll go on hating the uncertainty it causes and the fact it makes this sweet girl automatically pack up an overnight bag "just in case."

Aaaand, We Have a Winner

Thanks to everyone who visited Big Sissy's Etsy shop and offered feedback. After an exceedingly high-tech selection process (i.e. Sissy put the names in a hat and picked one), we have a winner.

STACY!

Come on down. You're the next contestant the proud new owner of an original watercolor by the only person who can say she survived childhood with me as her mom. Send your address to me at momintwocultures@gmail.com to collect your prize.

In case the rest of you are wondering, Stacy liked this picture best:

I guess I can't blame her. It is pretty awesome. Me? Well, I'm still waiting for my hand-painted original birthday present. I hear it's pretty cool.

And, oh yeah, if you haven't checked it out already, please go to Big Sissy's Etsy shop Kokoro Watercolor. Seriously, don't make me have to tell you again!

UPDATE!

Apparently, I have trouble distinguishing between "Leaves" and "Feathers." Stacy chose this picture:

...which means, lucky for the rest of you, the other one's still available!

The First and Probably Only Ever MITC Giveaway Sweepstakes Thingamabob

Sooo, Big Sissy has been busy trying to set up her very own Etsy. Of course, we're thrilled for her though we wish she spent a little more of her free time driving to see us instead of painting. Since Big Sissy is new to this whole online self-publicity thing, and since she's never really shown her art to the public, she's feeling a bit self-conscious and nervous about all of this. Let's help her out by flooding her Etsy page with visitors. You can find her at Kokoro Watercolor.

So, go! Go and give her some encouragement. Become her follower. Ask your friends to check out her stuff. Buy things. And then, after you've looked at her stuff, come back here and tell me in the comments section which watercolor you liked the best and why you think you need it in your life. The giveaway part comes when I put your name in a hat and then Big Sissy chooses a winner at random. The winner gets....drum roll please...Yes, that's right. The winner gets a free watercolor painting of his/her choosing.

Is this too convoluted? Probably. This is why I stink at blogging and should probably never have another giveaway.  Of course, I stink at a lot of things, but that's never stopped me before! So, see you in the comments section.

Help This Kid!

Big Sissy still can't think of a name for her Etsy shop. Can you help? Here are the ones she's considering:

Eat, Sleep, Paint
Daughter in Two Cultures
Different Like You
Kokoro Illustration
Kokoro Watercolor

(Kokoro is a Japanese word that's often translated as "heart" but it also incorporates the idea of one's spirit or soul--in other words, it's not entirely translatable)

She's been thinking about this for days now, and nothing really seems right. I suggested a couple that are in the running, but Ren has been wholly unhelpful. His only contribution has been to tell us that most of the ideas don't "sound right" (hibiki ga yokunai). Do you like one or more of these? Do you have some other ideas? Please leave your suggestions in the comments.

Oh, and she says she likes this picture better than the one I posted yesterday:

Which one do you like better? We may or may not have a friendly wager on this, and you may or may not be able to help us settle it. I like the one without the outlines, but, then again, she and I have never shared the same aesthetic.  You should see us trying to shop for clothes together!

And here are a couple of new ones (I'll encourage her to work on her photography skills so she doesn't keep getting the shadow of her camera into the shots).

You can see some of her other stuff in my post "Into the Light." 

So, in summary, please help Big Sissy come up with a name for her Etsy shop. Maybe if you're lucky, she'll listen to you. Goodness knows she hardly ever listens to me! :) Oh, and if you like one of those "Different Like You" pictures better than the other, tell us so we can settle our bet!

Different Like You

Okay, one more Big Sissy creation (actually, there are a lot more, but she's working on an Etsy shop, so I'll let you check those out there). This one is her contribution to Autism Advocacy month. She wanted to use the puzzle design since it's so closely linked to autism in people's consciousness. The motto "Different Like You" came from the many conversations we've had at our house about how all of us are made differently. Some of us need glasses. Some of us have bad backs. Some of us have asthma. Some of us can't eat peanuts. Some of us have brains that see the world in unique ways. We're all different, and we're all different in different ways. If nothing else, I hope our experiences with autism teach all of my kids to show compassion and/or understanding for people who don't quite fit in. And, that they learn to advocate not only for themselves but for those around them in need of a voice.

The fine print: please feel free to share the image and the motto. but also offer credit where credit is due.  And, while you're at it, direct people to this blog and/or Big Sissy's Etsy (once we figure out what to call it).

Also, you can see more work by Big Sissy in my blog post "Into the Light."

Into the Light

When I first entered Big Sissy's life, she was in the fifth grade. People can say all they want about junior high school and the pains of adolescence, but I'm pretty sure fifth and sixth grade are the worst! By the time Big Sissy was in 8th and 9th grade, she almost seemed human again. Of course, it probably didn't help her pre-teen rebelliousness to suddenly have a foreigner tagging around acting the part of her mom, but that's how it went.

By the time I showed up, Big Sissy was 11 and had been covertly drawing manga for years. I suppose she took to hiding her pictures because she got into trouble for drawing them. And, she got into trouble for drawing them because she drew them everywhere all the time. Each and every page of her school textbooks was covered with her illustrations.*** She also doodled on the backs and even the fronts of her homework and in-class assignments (as well as on tests and quizzes). It was as if each and every blank spot of paper was meant to be illustrated. Big Sissy was also famous for spending hours in her room redrawing different scenes from comics she'd read instead of doing her homework. And, of course, she'd quickly shove them into her desk drawer when one of us came near her room. Sometimes the drawer would be so full of "secret" manga that it couldn't be opened.

Those early years of our relationship seemed to be one continuous conversation (debate? argument?) about the proper place and time for art and about the need to bring her talent into the light so she could draw in the pursuit of a greater good. It took years for me to convince Big Sissy that we supported her talent, just not her semi-delinquent approach to it. Later, as she thought about her future and started to plan for college, we talked about the importance of balancing her passion for drawing with being able to support herself.

Recently, Big Sissy started drawing and painting in earnest again. No more textbook doodles or papers crammed into desk drawers! Finally, she's bringing her talent to the light.

So, what do you think?


***Before you judge her too harshly, I should tell you that textbooks in Japan are much different than in the US. They are thin paperback books that you purchase and keep, so Big Sissy wasn't defacing school property, just her own.

Oh, just in case you're thinking about it, don't be a jerk and steal her artwork.