Celebrate: May babies

Decided to write something since Jon has left for work and Kaiden is still snuggling in the blanket. A rainy morning which is so good for sleep in.

This month marks almost the end of the first half year and in my family, there are two May babies. My sister who is now far away in US and my father-in-law. Could not celebrate for my sister, everyone in the family surprised her with a birthday card. Hope the card travels half the world to arrive at her place safely.

So where did we go for FIL’s birthday celebration? Our favorite restaurant, Wah Lok at Carlton Hotel for Dim Sum cum lunch. We were the first to arrive. The kiddos self entertained with games on the phone while waiting. Smartphones have literally took over our lives. They have became our time fillers. These time should be used more wisely right? I have already put on a ban to use ipad or smartphones on weekdays for the children. I am glad they are slowly living without them.

Love my Samsung EX2F. Though it may not take wonderful pictures like Jon’s Canon 7D, it is so fun taking selfie with the movable screen. It was a light-hearted lunch so Jon and I started taking selfies. The kids then wanted to join in. Kaiden is always teased by Jon being an extra cos he is so sticky to me. LOL. Even our newest member of the family, Ning, joined in the fun by photobombing one of the pics. It was hilarious. No pretty selfies in the end but these photos are the reflections of how much fun we had that day.

Random Monday: Thankful and Happy Thoughts

A few months ago, a friend asked why I have not been updating my blog? Kinda of happy cos there is someone who reads it. 🙂 But in true fact, I have not had the time to post any of it even though I have folders of pictures that I have edited and were all ready to post up. I have been kinda of asking, what I have done over almost half a year when my last post was My Obsession with The Heirs in December.

Looking back, son started Primary 1 and girl moved on to Primary 3 this year. With one in the morning and the other in the afternoon session, I was happy that I do not have to put up with their endless squabbles and fights. Oh mine, I was wrong. I am actually busier than expected with the sending, picking and the preparation. I am always the first to wake up and the last to be on bed. I am not complaining but in actual fact, I enjoy every process of it.

I enjoy waking up in the morning, preparing Kaitlyn for school, making sure she gets enough food and take my time to tie the neatest plaits, holding her hands to stroll to school. I enjoy waking the deep asleep Kaiden up, taking time to see his smiles in his sleep, walking the longest walk to school cos he wants to spend a longer time with me. I enjoy having breakfast with hubby in the morning cos he is so busy providing for the family, spending little time at home. Though frustrated that I have to keep on nagging at the children to complete certain tasks and not being able to see hubby almost the whole day, I am still glad I have them with me.

That’s for home. Work wise, setting, vetting and editing of worksheets is a weekly thing. Never ending, never stop. I have to find pockets of time in between to clear my work. Mostly in the morning before Kaiden wakes up or late at night when the children are asleep. I am glad I have a job, providing little help to ease the household. Not only that, I have really nice colleagues who share and help one another. I really enjoy what I am doing now. The only sad thing is I really do not have much time to create more pretty accessories. I miss crafting time.

With this random post, I am going to throwback to my days in December in 2013 when I have my children at home and a break from work when we took a short getaway to Avillion Port Dickson to attend Jon’s cousin wedding. Desperately need some sun, water and sand.

Disneyland Paris cos it’s MM’s Birthday Today!

It is Mickey Mouse’s birthday today thus I decided to dedicate a blog post on my day at Walt Disney Studios and Disneyland while I was in Paris. We did not reach the parks very early. We first lost our way at the train stations, then decided to visit the Premium Outlets for some shopping before dropping by the parks. Though late, we still enjoyed ourselves for the rest of the day.

Even though, my children were not with us on this trip, I still wanted to visit Disneyland. It is one off my bucket list and I am left with the last to visit, Disneyland Florida, for now and another upcoming one in Shanghai (opening in 2015).

We missed most of the shows and parades but it is all right. Pictures taken and place visited. I bought a 2 parks 1 day hopper tickets. So off we go to Disneyland park.

There is always something magical about Disneyland whether is nearer in Hong Kong or further away in Paris. Jonathan said, this is the only place with so many princesses (with the little girls dressed in their favorite princesses costumes). We seemed to be teleported into a fairytale land and for a moment, we were detached from the reality world, away from worries and stress. To children, this is a place where dreams come true and for adults like us, it is a place where we can live our dreams (even for the slightest moment). I love the Small, Small World rides, so vibrant. By placing the different countries’ culture in one place shows that everyone can live in harmony. The exciting and ‘life-threatening’ rides are no longer my cup of tea. Maybe I have grown older and became less brave. So glad that Kaitlyn is not here with us else, we would be forced to ride with her.

Of all the Disneylands that I have gone to, I love Tokyo Disneyland best maybe it bought back the most memories. I enjoyed that most even though I do not understand their language. It was my first time travelling with my first  and last batch of Primary 6 graduands (a graduation cum exchange programme to Japan). I recalled the planning of rides the night before looking at all the excited faces. I took the dangerous and lungs-breaking rides with them while they watched the calm and ‘lame’ (to them) Electric Night parade with me. 🙂 So is there any Disneyland trips that leave you with the deepest memories?

In this post, I hereby once again wish Mickey Mouse a very

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Montmartre – Bohemia, Cabaret, Modern Art?

Montmartre is an interesting area. I stayed in Pigalle (famous for its nightlife and a red-light district similar to Singapore’s Geylang) which houses rows and rows of night-clubs, bistros and sex stores. Main reason for choosing the area is the convenient of metro to airport, Moulin Rouge (cabaret) which I had wanted to visit since the movie in 2001 and Sacre-Coeur, the majestic church.

Street was pretty quiet in the morning when I strolled along on the first day. Shops were not opened and could only view items from the windows. Streets increased in gradient as I walked towards the highest point where Sacre-Coeur was. The walk reminded me of the days I was in San Francisco. I walked passed Sacre-Coeur but did not go in as I wanted to save the visit with hubby.

Montmartre to me, is an area with many artistic feel. It is a place where many artists, including Pablo Picasso and Vincent van Gogh, had studios or worked in. There are many interesting shops selling unique handmade jewelry and quirky items. Pop colours and interesting displays in shopfront attracted my attention. I love the range of blue bracelets displayed in one of the shops. The jewelry designer presented a creative way to create stack without having to put them on one by one. Another shop display was packed with pinks and burgundy to remind me that summer is coming to an end and we should welcome fall. I was intrigued by a shop selling adorable household items which I had seen them for sale in one of the shops in Hong Kong’s Harbour City. All these items can be found along the street of Rue Tardieu.

Walking along Rue de Steinkerque, seems to teleport me back to Bugis Street. The road that leads me to Sacre-Coeur from Anvers metro station, is filled with shops selling Paris souvenir. I love this street. It is filled with tourists and trinkets that can be brought home. Personally, I love the musical box. Usually musical boxes are square but the ones sold here are round and beautifully decorated with significant Paris icons. On the same road, it is a must to visit Maison Georges Larnicol which sells chocolates. Even if you are not a chocolate lover, walk in to view the amazing chocolate artwork of Notre Dame.

Lastly, gonna leave a picture of Chicken Spot. Hubby and I had cravings for fried chicken and apparently, could not find any KFC. We were so glad we found Chicken Spot and went back two days straight for snacks. It was really good.

Hi Paris

Arriving at Paris CDG airport on a Friday morning. It was my first time travelling alone and setting foot on a country that I had never been. No cars and with no intention to take a taxi to my hotel, I scampered together with other travelers to the long waiting queue of the lifts. Holding tight to the luggage and making my way to the train station, my heart palpitated as I wondered if I would lose my way in Paris.

There were three types of trains that I would need to take. The CDGVAL shuttle train to RER station, the RER then a Metro from CDG airport to Montmartre where my stay would be.

CDGVAL is easily identified as major signboards are located along the way. Not knowing where to head to, I just followed the crowd. RER is one of the train services, from lines from A to E, travelling further out or into Paris. I took the RER B line to reach Gare du Nord (aka Paris Nord) to switch to a Metro. Comfort of escalators were gone once I reached Gare du Nord station. I had to lug my luggage up and down numerous flights of stairs starting from there to the place I stayed. A Metro, with 15 lines (complicated but coded with different colours) connected all over Paris, was the next transportation I took. I boarded Line 2 (blue) train, from La Chapelle to Pigalle. Walk from Gare du Nord was a short 10 minutes with an underground connecting. Maybe it was in the morning, I kinda of eased a little when I saw many people in the underground.

Journey to Pigalle was quite fast. Stops from station to station was pretty short but crowded. Only saddened by the rain when I reached my location, thinking how on earth was I able to carry a 17kg luggage up the flight of stairs and holding an umbrella. Stranded, I waited together with others at the end of the stairs but decided to just cover myself with my scarf as I did not feel really safe alone. On my way up, some offered help but I declined, for fear that they might be pickpockets (being warned by many about pickpockets in Paris).

I will be sharing my Paris in snippets of locations instead of days as there are quite a number of pictures. 🙂 So I will start off with food on my first day since I did not visit much places while waiting for my hubby to arrive in Paris in late afternoon. Of course, the jet lag played a part and knocked out in hotel.

Had a little snack at a café opposite the Metro after placing luggage in the hotel. An awesome raspberry tart with fruits melting in my mouth. A hot chocolate to soothe my cold body after being in the rain.

Price: about €5.00 for a set

Location: La Brioche Dorée, 16 boulevard Clichy, 75018 Paris

Tel: 01 46 06 18 16

Shopped a little at Avenue des Champs Elysees and popped by La Maison del’ Aubrac recommended by a Sales Assistant from Montblanc. Upon hearing that we were from Singapore, his eyes sparkled. He started to reminisce the days he did his internship in Singapore and how he enjoyed his stay. 🙂

Food was fantastic at Aubrac especially love the succulent Veal Skewer and Zucchini. Hub had the Roast Chicken with Herb and Fig while his colleague had the Sirloin Steak and potatoes. All receiving good comments. Bistro alike ambience where soft music is played and lightings. A good place to eat and chat comfortably. Perks, there is wifi connection in the restaurant. 🙂

Price: about €30 per person (including a glass of wine)

Location: La Maison del’ Aubrac, 37, rue Marbeuf, 75008, Paris

Tel: 0033 (0)1 43 59 05 14

Love: Spending Quality Time with Son

Recently, I have been getting a lot of complaints about son’s behavior. These complaints came mostly from family members about him misbehaving and at times from his school bus auntie. When told not to do certain things, he will purposely do it. Maybe I should say that he is acting out. I know that something is wrong but is not able to pin-point the cause.

I started to reflect.

What caused the change in his behavior that everyone started to label him as naughty? Usually, I will send Kaiden to school. Especially recently, he has been clinging and whining to me whenever I sent him. Teacher has to pull him away from me or I have to sneak off. It was not longer a breeze sending him to school. 😦 I actually pin-pointed the problem to the school. Last week, I asked the teacher if anything had happened in school and was wondering why such behavior.

Teacher called me that very afternoon, told me that she has spoken to Kaiden, only to say that he did not want to go Speech and Drama. Teacher said he is a polite and well-behaved boy, gets on well with his friends and never gives her problems in class. I was even speculating that he could be bullied by his classmates cos he has been giving his toys away to his friends. I shared with her the different Kaiden at home, the naughty and hyper-active one which is a different person to her. Then she posed the question back to me…. Could it be that something happen at home recently? Or any privileges that were taken away that caused him to act out? I paused and could not answer cos most of the time, he is at my mil’s place. Asked him about things happened in mil place, he just brushed across saying nothing. It then dawned on me that I may not be spending enough time with him. My focus was on Kaitlyn. The whole afternoon, he was at my mil’s place as I used all my afternoons running workshops, creating and vetting worksheets.

No wonder, he wants me by his side on his bed to accompany him every night.

No wonder, he wants me to send him to school every morning.

No wonder, he would always ask if I have workshops, if I could pick him up from Granny’s place earlier.

Teacher told me to have a good chat with him hoping that we could find out the root of the problem and not just label him as naughty. No one likes to be labeled. 😦

Not accepting more workshops, I decided to spend a little more time with him. Working from home so that I could bring him home earlier. Probably to him, his language of love is quality time. 🙂

He enjoys his company with grandfather. Though grandfather spends very little time with him every weekend, he spends quality time. Really enjoying what he does with Kaiden and focusing on doing it only with him. Father would bring out different kinds of exercising gears to workout with him only. So funny when Father took out the dumbbells and followed through with Kaiden. Father was more excited and amazed than Kaiden when he could lift both the dumbbells.

Let’s get ready to exercise!

Tummy Tuck Time

Then swing our arms!

Lift your legs and touch your feet!

Twill our bellies…

and finally march on the spot.

That ends the exercise procedures. Kaiden was proud of himself and decided to show grandfather one last stunt…

Yea!!!!

So come to think of it… throughout the process, I don’t see son not being able to take instructions… or misbehaving. He was just enjoying the fun he had with grandfather. Clearly the time spent was deeply etched in his memory…. So happened when school required him to complete a work, he did this. Pictures of course done by me but is the thought that counts right. 🙂

So ya… A reminder to myself, I should try to listen to him more and spend quality time with him. Focus on him and look at him while talking instead on my phone. *Guilty*