Our Usual Outing

At least once a week for the past six weeks we've taken an "outing" to the NTU Hospital for blood tests and talks with the blood doctor to try to get the dosage right for this medication I'm now taking (I'm not sure if I've given the story or not - it's not that serious - maybe that will be another entry). I am getting a bit tired of going this direction every week, but indeed I am thankful that these trips aren't for something serious. Maybe God's trying to give me empathy towards those who spend a lot of time there - I'll be on the look out for others who we can help. And since it's not for anything really serious, I do try to make the "outing" as fun as I can for the kids. So this past Friday, I packed up a picnic and we headed over to the 2/28 Peace Park for lunch and a bit of a play after the blood draw. It was a gorgeous day...

I put the blanket over the top of the stroller between the two seats to help block out a bit more sun and it always reminds me of a royal carriage on one of those old Disney cartoons. So this day Princess Helena sat in back because I wanted her to sleep on the ride but she was not about to miss out on any of this beautiful day!


We haven't even left our complex yet and I was snapping photos of the kids. I've been meaning to get a few shots of our place - it really is so lovely!


So the kids just stay seated and they both like to watch mama get the needle... it's a good thing they're there - it gives me a good excuse not to look at the needle!

Here's the little center... looks like I must've gone for a swim in the morning - I still have deep lines around my eyes from the goggles (or do I always look like this?).

Here's the little man enjoying the big swings!!! He LOVED it!

And my little sweetie just a few feet away drawing a crowd so Hunter could monopolize the swings... that's pretty good teamwork!

Ah... Kids Are Good For the Ego

The other day when we were on the MRT Hunter saw this picture and said "Baba" (which is 'daddy' in Chinese)... I got a big smile when I looked at the poster and thought - "You know, you're not too far off, kid... your baba does look similar - minus the metal claws and scruffy hair!"
The next day we went for a walk down by the movie theatre where these posters are super-sized and again he kept calling out "Baba, baba"!!! Pretty classic!!!

I'm not even making this up... everytime we pass by any poster or see any bus with this image, he starts going on and on about his "baba"... you can be sure Tony's standing a little straighter and flexing a bit more around the house these days!

Flexibility Is The Key...

Saturday we had a plan... the girls were going to the Lego Family Sale, the boys were going for a bike ride along the river - then we'd all meet up at the Children's Recreation Park. Sounds like a good plan, eh?!? Well, Helena and I waited for about 30 minutes at the Lego Sale when it finally dawned on me that lining up in the stairwell with a tired 8-month old baby was a) not safe, b) not pleasureable and c) just not a good way to spend a lovely day. So she and I gave up our spots in line and headed out... good thing I called Tony before getting too far... he said he'd tweaked his neck somehow on the early part of the ride and really wasn't feeling well at all. So... our plan - phet (in a swishing tone) - out the window. But heck, we're flexible/adaptable parents and it was an absolute stunner of a day... so after naps we ventured by bus to Daan Park for a bit of family time then grabbed some of our favorites dishes from our favorite HK restaurant and had a picnic dinner at the NTU tennis courts. Tony made it to the church office in time for a singing rehearsal (more to come on that one after the wedding this weekend) and the kids and I made it home well past their bedtime!!! And all up - it was a really fun afternoon!!!

This is just the 20-30 minute wait to get into the elevator, to get up to the 15th floor, from where you had to walk up the stairs to the roof to continue standing in line...

cheap Legos would've been fun, but hey... not that fun! (I ended up going back on Monday with NO LINE and really all I bought was a 5-piece set that included a little horse... glad I didn't wait in line longer on Saturday)

Hunter was a big boy and got to sit in the actual bus seat rather than his stroller! He was super thrilled by this and was all smiles for most of the time!

Helena got to have her afternoon bottle at the park while daddy tried to keep Hunter in his field of vision in the midst of the hundreds of kids playing on the slides. Good thing Hunter has light hair! Oh... check out Helena's little teeth!!! She's just got these two, but they seem to be doing the trick for now!!!

Hunter was desperate to join the skaters...

Can you believe how peppy they look for it being an hour past bedtime!?!

Much Needed Distractions and Childhood Exuberance

I was having one of those days... I think every mom knows a little about 'those days'! Sometimes 'those days' last a week, sometimes it's only an hour in a day... regardless of duration and events therein, most moms know what I'm talking about. Anyway I was having one of those days... on top of whatever else was scratching me, I dropped Helena's glass bottle on the floor creating a 'big mess' to clean up. I did what most moms would do, put the crawling baby in the crib to keep her away from the hazard and put Hunter in charge of entertaining his sister so she wouldn't cry while I cleaned up. Well, Mr Hunter decided it was more important to check up on mama and kept spouting "big mess... uh oh... big mess... uh oh..." Just as I was sweeping up the last of the glass shards, a big bang sounded from the kitchen balcony! It was the building washers reminding me they were on their way to wash this side of the building and I needed to pull in my laundry. Okay... then back to vacuuming the glass particles... and "uh oh... big mess"... Finally, the area was safe enough to bring Helena back (though she spent a great deal of time in the exersaucer from then on) but poor Hunter was still a bit stir crazy. THANKFULLY, the building washers came back... What a wonderful distraction. After seeing men outside our balcony, Hunter forgot about the big mess and the fact he was bored.

It's not everyday you see men suspended from the side of your high-rise apartment building!


Hunter thought this was pretty cool. I even took him outside to stand on the ledge (perfectly safe) to wave to the men as they moved down a floor.


Then of course came the ceremonial lining up of the animals!

Well, despite the 45-minute disruptive 'big mess', I managed to cook an interesting dinner, but was still feeling a bit edgy (are there strange hormones at work when you stop breastfeeding?). Thankfully my super husband had seen something interesting on his way home from work, so after dinner, we threw the routine out the window and went for a walk (good way to tire out a two year old and soothe a mother). Besides the mating frogs and neighborhood dogs, we got to see some other wildlife in the city - SQUIRRELS!!!




Even Helena got to see the standing squirrel up close (don't worry, we sanitized their hands and stroller afterwards)... but she didn't like it as much as Hunter... she started to cry!!


A man was selling trained squirrels... here he is telling the little guy to "stand up". Pretty soon Hunter was telling him to 'stand up'!

As Hunter got more confident, he began squealing in delight, twirling around in circles and drawing a crowd around the pet squirrels... it was so much fun to see him so excited!

He even got so brave as to let the squirrel sit on his arm!! WOW!! (Then nervously/excitedly flicked the poor little creature off onto the hard pavement)

I'm sure there will be more of "those days" in the future, but I'm pretty confident that they will become a blur, and moments of childhood exuberance like Hunter and the squirrels - "these days" - are the ones I'll treasure in my mother's heart!

Just Hanging Around...

Here are a few gems from the past couple of weeks. Seems we've spent a lot of time at the NTU Hospital lately... but that's no fun to post pictures of mommy getting her blood drawn AGAIN (just trying to get the blood thinning medication dosage right-takes time and trips to the hospital-too bad we couldn't just scan the blood and email it to them-it'd be a lot quicker)... so here are some of the more interesting/everyday life moments around home/town.

When left to his own devices, Hunter usually ends up lining things up or rearranging the furniture... thankfully this day saw his animals lined up for a water break! I think he lined the cups up first, then decided the animals were thirsty... it's pretty funny to see his lines of items around the house.

Our friends gave us a lovely traditional Chinese New Year outfit for Helena to wear next year, but Hunter has insisted on wearing the various pieces around the house at different times. Once he wore the thick silk pants for a nap... anyway, this particular morning he wanted the jacket on (surprising because he was wearing his new shirt from Uncle Jack & Auntie Sue which he absolutely loves) but he also wanted to go swimming... he settled for the goggles! Notice, he's also learned how to put up two fingers to tell people he's "TWO" - well, he actually says "Liang sui" which is "Two years old" in Chinese. I think he learned to put up the two fingers in photos from Uncle Melvin earlier in the week... it's funny to see what kids pick up! And dear Helena... well, she's just all smiles in her spit up covered shirt... what a sweetie!!!

Hunter and Hilo... he's been asking for "Hilo" almost everyday this week. Imagine his excitement when he finds out he gets to spend all day Saturday with him while Cynthia & Gerald look after him while we go to a wedding... I hope it all goes well!!

One day we took a walk to the organic store (really a walk & MRT ride) and met up with Anna & Sharon since their place is just 2 minutes from our special store. Anna was a bit chicken to go on the slide, but Hunter was able to persuade her...

See... it's not that bad, Anna Ayi!!!

What a Fun Week... and it's only Thursday!

We've had a busy, busy but fun week and it's only Thursday! Monday was a gloomy day, but we headed over toward the Core Pacific Living Mall for a TV commercial audition, which led to a lunch out and a long walk home for Hunter! Tuesday was super packed with a trip to the hospital for a routine blood draw, another commercial audition and then our big EASTER PARTY (scroll down to check it out!). Wednesday we took it easy until music class which is always Hunter's highlight of the week. And today - Thursday - we took a trip with some Taiwanese friends up to Yangminshan to see the LILY FESTIVAL (scroll down further for those photos too)! Phew... and what's to come?!? I'm not sure, but I do know I should be taking a nap right now!!!

It would be surprising if he got called for this job... he was not interested in smiling for the camera or laughing on cue. Who could blame him... here he is in a sterile environment with no toys or music... and strangers poking him (we know her, don't worry) pretty tough to muster up your cutest smile in this situation!

He looked so grown up talking on the phone with daddy! We really miss Tony on Mondays especially!!!

Mobile Helena

HAPPY EASTER

Last Thursday at Playgroup we decided to have an Easter Party on Tuesday... five days to plan a major toddler event - no problem!! What a fantastic team effort!!! Suzanne & Anna & Marta planned the snacks (delicious and nutritious... can you believe not a single chocolate egg arrived?), Cynthia planned the Easter Story, and I got a lot of help from Yin Leng and Jenny setting up the activity side of things. All up we had 14 kids between the ages of 15 months and 4 years old participate (so that doesn't count Helena at 8 months and baby Abram at 1 month) along with their moms... it was a full house and A LOT OF FUN!!! My camera was on the wrong ISO setting so the photos are pretty average, but you'll get the idea of what the kids got up to... what a memorable event! Thanks everyone for coming along and making it such a special day for the kids... and thanks for all the help putting the house back in order!!!

Despite my shocking 50% result for hard-boiling eggs (50% broke in process) we still managed to have enough eggs for the kids to color (thanks to those who brought their own and Rachel who brought some plastic ones!!).

Surprisingly, there were no major spills - pretty impressive considering the age and dexterity of the crowd!

Kristie brought Ellie and Abram out by taxi... she wasn't going to let the torrential rain spoil their big outing!!! What a trooper!!!

I'd asked Yin Leng and Ashley to decorate some small cups so each child could have a pedastal to display their 'favorite' egg... they came up with this design!! I obviously asked the right people... mine would've been marker on cup with maybe a spring color spiral!

Siena and Ashley were the 'big sisters' of the group... can you believe these healthy snacks!?! Wow!


Suzanne brought the materials for the kids to make these super cute little baskets!!!

Ashley proudly displaying her egg.

As if dying eggs, making baskets and coloring pictures wasn't enough... Jenny taught the kids how to make 'mosaic' eggs out of tissue paper and contact paper! These turned out really cool... thanks heaps for all the fun ideas!!!

Cynthia gathered the kids around to tell them the story of Jesus and the meaning behind Easter! They all sat and listened (for the most part) and hopefully seeds will be planted in their little hearts!

After the Easter Story, we crammed into the elevators...

waited patiently at the door...

then off we went on an egg hunt!!!

It ended up raining - pouring actually - so we did the egg hunt in our lobby. Thanks Yin Leng & Suriya for your eggsellent hiding!!!

This is about as close as we got to a group photo... maybe next time...

Beautiful Flowers and a Bit of Fresh Air

Our dear sisters from church arranged to take us on a little outing up to Yangminshan today! They even organized a van to fit the two carseats and pram into. I've never been up to that part of the mountain before - it was beautiful - fresh air, beautiful flowers and of course, lots of people (it's still Taipei). Hunter had an absolute blast! He and Melvin shu shu got along fabulously... they were exploring all over the place! And Helena, once she had her bottle, was fascinated by the colors and fresh air. It was a real special treat to get out of the city for the afternoon. The fresh air must've done them well... Helena's still asleep in her car seat!


Hunter and his new best buddy - Melvin Shu Shu - sitting at the 'men's table'.

Hunter was pretty serious about his lilies... he didn't really want Auntie Elana touching them!

Mei Mei's Mobile

I forgot to mention this a couple of weeks ago, but Helena's on the move... I didn't want to say she was "crawling" because I wasn't quite sure that what she does qualifies... but after hearing so many friends say "wow - Helena's crawling" I guess that's what she's doing! So now I find her in all sorts of places with all of Hunter's toys in her mouth and all sorts of dust on her tummy!

Twenty-Four

Wow... it's amazing how refreshed I feel after having spent twenty-four hours without pushing a pram, changing a diaper, singing "wiggly woo" or feeding someone besides myself!!! I went along to the Torch Church Women's Retreat this weekend while my PHENOMENAL husband took care of both kids!!! It was the first time I've been away by myself at least since the kids have been around... and the whole time I felt so light and 'free'. Don't get me wrong, I ABSOLUTELY love our kids and I love my role as mama - there's nothing I'd rather be doing with my life at this stage!! However, it was sooooooooooooo nice to finish a conversation and eat a hot meal. So what does a mom do with this kind of free time???

Well, I still got up at early - 6.30 on a Saturday just isn't right - but my friends/roommates wanted to swim early. It's been a long time since I've been outside at this time in the morning - it was beautiful.

After my 2km swim in the pool (Tony & I are going to enter a 'fun swim' of 3km at the end of May so I have to 'train'), I joined some other friends for breakfast. Unfortunately the eating fast has become a habit -


Of course... after a 6.30 start I got to do something I don't usually get to do - take a snooze!

Nothing like a little arrow shooting to get your blood pumping.

My roommates were ladies from the Tuesday Mother's small group... we had fun hanging out together without our small kids.

I'm looking and feeling pretty relaxed, eh?!?

Ense Jie - our pastor's wife - is such a lovely friend.

And in the end, I rediscovered I'm more suited to 'warm' colors... so I'll keep that in mind when we get back to the States in July and I do my big shopping spree.

And what about Tony & the kids you wonder? Well, he took them to our favorite place - the zoo!