Schools Out!
Which, can sometimes be good, and sometimes not.
Yay! I can now sleep in a bit longer, no need to wake up early to get the kids organized for
school!
Yay! Kaitlyn has someone to play with at home, and won't demand my every attention.
Boo! Every where I go (shopping mainly), I'll have to bring 3 kids instead of the 1.
Boo! 3 kids at home = more mess and more noise throughout the day as they go about making said
mess.
But mainly Yay, as I won't feel as lonely at home as I normally do! Christmas is almost upon us, and the kids are happily counting down to the day! Merry Christmas to all who stumble in here!
Friday, December 22, 2006
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Swimming
My kids have been taking swimming lessons at the nearby swim school for a while now, 30 minute classes which consisted of a number of water activities and basic swim strokes. With the arrival of my sister and her 10-month old boy here to visit for the holidays, we decided she would bring her boy and I, my little girl for a quick trip to the nearby Aquatic center to see how well they would behave and more importantly, how long her little boy would want to stay in the water.
There were a number of pools at the Aquatic center. And it was not as crowded as we had expected, possibly as some schools were still in session (thankfully). We started off at the shallow pool (max 0.7 M) and Sebastian looked to be enjoying himself, especially when he noticed his cousin Kaitlyn was happily splashing about the water.
Kaitlyn was particularly excited that she could actually touch the floor of the pool with her feet, as all her lessons were conducted with me as her "life-pole". She happily climbed in and out the pool, and on a few occasions, slipped on the floor, and would splash about ferociously as she forgot she could actually 'put her feet down' and stand up!
After 15 minutes of us adults sitting on the pool floor, we decided to venture to the wave pool next. It was much colder, as the pool ranged from 0M to about 2M (I'm not precisely sure about that deep end, but it was deep enough that some teenagers there had to paddle to keep afloat).
Sebastian and Kaitlyn were happy to kick water at each other for a few minutes, but as they had not started the waves yet, we decided to go to the next pool. This pool was the toddler play pool and had a number of swirls and bubbles in some places, with water spouts and fountains in others. The "bubbles" (think 'spa') was a popular spot, as most of the mothers sat and chatted there. The spots with water being endlessly sprayed did not go on too well, we could hardly see with all the water being 'rained' on us. We were just about to give up, when the horn sounded that the waves were about to start on the wave pool. Back we ran.
My sis and Sebastian stayed near the shallow end, while Kaitlyn and I ventured nearer to the middle. As the waves started rolling, Kaitlyn started to giggle whenever a wave approached us and we bounced up and over it. However after about a minute, and the waves started coming in full force, I decided to move closer to the shallow end, which took considerable energy with the waves beating at my back. Kaitlyn was enjoying herself thoroughly with the waves splashing into her face, and she would move towards each approaching wave ready to jump at it. After a few more minutes, she decided to take refuge behind my back, giggling madly whenever a particularly strong wave would bowl me over. I shudder to think how I would control all 3 kids if my boys were here as well, though it would have been huge fun.
The waves lasts 15 minutes, but we were back in the shallow pool way before then, tired from the exertion of holding on to our respective child. We had been in the water about 40 minutes now, though it felt like hours of swim time. Kaitlyn found an abandoned swim board and decided to play with it. I tried to reason with her that she was to put her body on it to float. But she had other ideas. She grabbed the board, got out of the pool, and proceeded to the edge of the pool. There, she placed the board on the water edge, letting it float on the water. And then, to my surprise, decided to step onto it. I was near enough to immediately pull her before she had fully submerged. She was puzzled why it didn't work, she had been expecting to be able to surf! That was when we decided we had had enough of the water, and bundled the kids off home.
There were a number of pools at the Aquatic center. And it was not as crowded as we had expected, possibly as some schools were still in session (thankfully). We started off at the shallow pool (max 0.7 M) and Sebastian looked to be enjoying himself, especially when he noticed his cousin Kaitlyn was happily splashing about the water.
Kaitlyn was particularly excited that she could actually touch the floor of the pool with her feet, as all her lessons were conducted with me as her "life-pole". She happily climbed in and out the pool, and on a few occasions, slipped on the floor, and would splash about ferociously as she forgot she could actually 'put her feet down' and stand up!
After 15 minutes of us adults sitting on the pool floor, we decided to venture to the wave pool next. It was much colder, as the pool ranged from 0M to about 2M (I'm not precisely sure about that deep end, but it was deep enough that some teenagers there had to paddle to keep afloat).
Sebastian and Kaitlyn were happy to kick water at each other for a few minutes, but as they had not started the waves yet, we decided to go to the next pool. This pool was the toddler play pool and had a number of swirls and bubbles in some places, with water spouts and fountains in others. The "bubbles" (think 'spa') was a popular spot, as most of the mothers sat and chatted there. The spots with water being endlessly sprayed did not go on too well, we could hardly see with all the water being 'rained' on us. We were just about to give up, when the horn sounded that the waves were about to start on the wave pool. Back we ran.
My sis and Sebastian stayed near the shallow end, while Kaitlyn and I ventured nearer to the middle. As the waves started rolling, Kaitlyn started to giggle whenever a wave approached us and we bounced up and over it. However after about a minute, and the waves started coming in full force, I decided to move closer to the shallow end, which took considerable energy with the waves beating at my back. Kaitlyn was enjoying herself thoroughly with the waves splashing into her face, and she would move towards each approaching wave ready to jump at it. After a few more minutes, she decided to take refuge behind my back, giggling madly whenever a particularly strong wave would bowl me over. I shudder to think how I would control all 3 kids if my boys were here as well, though it would have been huge fun.
The waves lasts 15 minutes, but we were back in the shallow pool way before then, tired from the exertion of holding on to our respective child. We had been in the water about 40 minutes now, though it felt like hours of swim time. Kaitlyn found an abandoned swim board and decided to play with it. I tried to reason with her that she was to put her body on it to float. But she had other ideas. She grabbed the board, got out of the pool, and proceeded to the edge of the pool. There, she placed the board on the water edge, letting it float on the water. And then, to my surprise, decided to step onto it. I was near enough to immediately pull her before she had fully submerged. She was puzzled why it didn't work, she had been expecting to be able to surf! That was when we decided we had had enough of the water, and bundled the kids off home.
Saturday, December 16, 2006
Up, Up, and Away!
How does one answer a child when he asks, "Mummy, why don't I have superpowers?". My middle son is obsessed with superheroes. He loves his movies, and he's always in fantasy land.
18 months ago : Xan is seen flying around the room with his make-shift light saber battling the Jedi as Anikin Skywalker. His life goal then was to be a Jedi when he grew up. "Mom, why can't I be a Jedi?"
12 months ago : Xan is seen jumping from furniture to furniture, shotting imaginary web into the air, pretending he is Spiderman. And might I add, alternating with playing with a toy camera as Peter Parker. His goal then was to be Spiderman when he grew up. I might add, that when he spotted a live spider hanging near his head when he awoke one morning, the screams of terror were loud. I did tell him Peter Parker was bitten by a spider, but he pointed out it was a "radio active" spider.
6 months ago : Xan is seen battling with his brother, sometimes as Iceman against his brother's Pyro. Other days, he would be jumping about, baring his imaginary claws as Wolverine. His goal then was to be a mutant when he grew up.
1 month ago: Xan is seen zooming across the room. Its a kid, Its a boy, No! It's Superman! He wanted super powers then. He would jump off the bed in a single bound and pretend to lift heavy objects (the pillows). Most of all, he wanted heat rays to shoot from his eyes. The glares he tried to give me felt hot enough!
And this week, he has a new life goal. He wants to be a ninja when he grows up. Thank to Naruto the animated Japanese series. Xan feels that with training, he will top Naruto in his tricks and fighting skills.
I wonder what new character he will take fancy to next.
18 months ago : Xan is seen flying around the room with his make-shift light saber battling the Jedi as Anikin Skywalker. His life goal then was to be a Jedi when he grew up. "Mom, why can't I be a Jedi?"
12 months ago : Xan is seen jumping from furniture to furniture, shotting imaginary web into the air, pretending he is Spiderman. And might I add, alternating with playing with a toy camera as Peter Parker. His goal then was to be Spiderman when he grew up. I might add, that when he spotted a live spider hanging near his head when he awoke one morning, the screams of terror were loud. I did tell him Peter Parker was bitten by a spider, but he pointed out it was a "radio active" spider.
6 months ago : Xan is seen battling with his brother, sometimes as Iceman against his brother's Pyro. Other days, he would be jumping about, baring his imaginary claws as Wolverine. His goal then was to be a mutant when he grew up.
1 month ago: Xan is seen zooming across the room. Its a kid, Its a boy, No! It's Superman! He wanted super powers then. He would jump off the bed in a single bound and pretend to lift heavy objects (the pillows). Most of all, he wanted heat rays to shoot from his eyes. The glares he tried to give me felt hot enough!
And this week, he has a new life goal. He wants to be a ninja when he grows up. Thank to Naruto the animated Japanese series. Xan feels that with training, he will top Naruto in his tricks and fighting skills.
I wonder what new character he will take fancy to next.
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Thursday, December 14, 2006
Yo Ho! Yo Ho!
I went shopping the other day with my little 2 year old, as I always do. And she is only 2 years old, so her memories of Christmas is probably a bit hazy, and generally centered around there being presents to open. She was excited to see Santa however, and kept pointing at him and giggling.
It was funny however that when Santa started going "Ho Ho Ho" she immediately squealed in recognition and starting bellowing at the top of her voice, "YO HO! YO HO!", all the way throughout the shopping centre and into the car park.
Her singing of course refers to the 'hit song' from Pirates of Carribean, 'A Pirate's Life For Me'. I've tried unsuccessfully to record her singing that. Of course, the minute the record button is on, she stops singing or her voice dwindles down to a mere whisper. And the minute i give up, she struts around the room yelling "Yo Ho! Yo Ho!" at the top of her voice.
It was funny however that when Santa started going "Ho Ho Ho" she immediately squealed in recognition and starting bellowing at the top of her voice, "YO HO! YO HO!", all the way throughout the shopping centre and into the car park.
Her singing of course refers to the 'hit song' from Pirates of Carribean, 'A Pirate's Life For Me'. I've tried unsuccessfully to record her singing that. Of course, the minute the record button is on, she stops singing or her voice dwindles down to a mere whisper. And the minute i give up, she struts around the room yelling "Yo Ho! Yo Ho!" at the top of her voice.
Friday, December 8, 2006
tuxedo party!
My 2nd son, is obsessed with penguins. When we go to the zoo, all he wants to see are penguins. Granted, he is satisfied to spend 2 mins looking at it, and then is willing to move on to anything else we prefer, but if we don't do it first, we spend the whole day being driven insane with his "where's the penguin? can i see the penguins? can we go now?"
He loves looking at pictures of penguins. He loves drawing penguins. His writing journals at school is filled with sentences about penguins (mainly, "I like penguins"), accompanied with more pictures of penguins. During art, he choses to make little paper penguins, which brings me to this incident.
About 2 months ago, my son comes home from school and introduces me to his new pet, "My Penguin". He tells me that his pet lives in cold places, and so, he needs to put him in a cold place to live. Hence, "My Penguin" is now living in my fridge.
Every now and then, my son would open the fridge to check on his pet. Saying things like, "My Penguin is resting" or "My Penguin is happy inside where its cold". Once, I had to take it out to make space for some actual food stuff, and he walked by and exclaimed, "Hey! who took out My Penguin? It's too hot, he'll melt!" And back went "My Penguin".
Last week, I opened the fridge and "My Penguin" had a 'friend'.
which was nothing compared to my surprise when i opened the fridge last night and found that "my Penguin" and his friend has been busy.
I swear, the one on the right is even waving to me! I wonder what I'll find in the next few weeks? I guess as long as the alcohol in the fridge (or the seafood) doesn't start going missing, I'm safe for the moment :)
edit: My son has now confirmed that this is the crew who broke out of the Zoo in "Madagascar".
Welcome Skipper, Private, Kawolski and Rico to the family!
He loves looking at pictures of penguins. He loves drawing penguins. His writing journals at school is filled with sentences about penguins (mainly, "I like penguins"), accompanied with more pictures of penguins. During art, he choses to make little paper penguins, which brings me to this incident.
About 2 months ago, my son comes home from school and introduces me to his new pet, "My Penguin". He tells me that his pet lives in cold places, and so, he needs to put him in a cold place to live. Hence, "My Penguin" is now living in my fridge.
Every now and then, my son would open the fridge to check on his pet. Saying things like, "My Penguin is resting" or "My Penguin is happy inside where its cold". Once, I had to take it out to make space for some actual food stuff, and he walked by and exclaimed, "Hey! who took out My Penguin? It's too hot, he'll melt!" And back went "My Penguin".
Last week, I opened the fridge and "My Penguin" had a 'friend'.
which was nothing compared to my surprise when i opened the fridge last night and found that "my Penguin" and his friend has been busy.
I swear, the one on the right is even waving to me! I wonder what I'll find in the next few weeks? I guess as long as the alcohol in the fridge (or the seafood) doesn't start going missing, I'm safe for the moment :)
edit: My son has now confirmed that this is the crew who broke out of the Zoo in "Madagascar".
Welcome Skipper, Private, Kawolski and Rico to the family!
Wednesday, December 6, 2006
dreaded dreaded patch day
I like to wallow in the familiar. I don't like change. It takes me time to get used to new ideas. Don't get me wrong, i have nothing against "growth" and technology. But i grow fond of the way things are, and always balk at changing. If it ain't broke, why fix it? I get used to the way my desktop is set, to know where my icons are at a flick of the mouse. Some people call it a mess, i call it organised chaos.
And so, patch days on World of Warcraft is especially difficult. On the one hand, I am excited to see what new things have been put into the game. New content can't be bad, it just makes the game more exciting. Then again, along with patch means the way i have set my whole screen is gone. My mods are non functioning (finding the right ones are a pain, since i must have like 50 mods). The way i have arranged the lay out of my screen has been set to default ( and no, i have no idea how and why i moved everything to the way it pleased me). Finding the right balance of where everything goes was a time-consuming effort. And all i want is the way things were so i can continue roaming the planes of Azeroth instead of spending the next 72 hours going, now...why does the upper left corner look slightly out of whack?
I moan and bemoan change, but in the end, I'll grow used to the new way it is...until the next dreaded patch day.
And so, patch days on World of Warcraft is especially difficult. On the one hand, I am excited to see what new things have been put into the game. New content can't be bad, it just makes the game more exciting. Then again, along with patch means the way i have set my whole screen is gone. My mods are non functioning (finding the right ones are a pain, since i must have like 50 mods). The way i have arranged the lay out of my screen has been set to default ( and no, i have no idea how and why i moved everything to the way it pleased me). Finding the right balance of where everything goes was a time-consuming effort. And all i want is the way things were so i can continue roaming the planes of Azeroth instead of spending the next 72 hours going, now...why does the upper left corner look slightly out of whack?
I moan and bemoan change, but in the end, I'll grow used to the new way it is...until the next dreaded patch day.
Tuesday, December 5, 2006
the beginning...again
I love blogs, just like i loved writing in my diary in my youth. Its the actual sitting down and writing it and keeping it up to date that I have a problem with. I spend much of everyday composing what I would write in a blog if I had one, only when I sit down to do it, my mind draws a blank. Something happens, and my mind race...
"How would I phrase what just happened if I were to write it down?"
or
"Gee, that would make an interesting entry, IF i had a blog".
I've done it before. Started a blog. kept it going for a few weeks. Then...silence. I just can't seem to stick to it. Just like, in my youth, every year, on 1st of January. My New Year's Resolution always started with, "this year, I will stick to my diary and devote a minimum of 10 mins updating it every night". And yet, come January the 1st, a new diary appears, with the same resolutions, and yet the old one lays not even a quarter of its pages used.
But I'll persevere this time...I hope.
"How would I phrase what just happened if I were to write it down?"
or
"Gee, that would make an interesting entry, IF i had a blog".
I've done it before. Started a blog. kept it going for a few weeks. Then...silence. I just can't seem to stick to it. Just like, in my youth, every year, on 1st of January. My New Year's Resolution always started with, "this year, I will stick to my diary and devote a minimum of 10 mins updating it every night". And yet, come January the 1st, a new diary appears, with the same resolutions, and yet the old one lays not even a quarter of its pages used.
But I'll persevere this time...I hope.
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