missing germany #3

This post is for next year so that my kids will not forget the season of colours - autumn! 

I always love autumn. Perhaps it's cos the much needed cool air to give some respite to a hot summer, although the past two summers hadn't been the hottest in history.

I love autumn for the beautiful colours too. A walk or a drive through the countryside now is just so beautiful, as if one had stepped into a fairy tale picture book. 

Though it's a pretty grey day for autumn and I feel like curling up in bed with a book, I'm still gonna miss this cool air and melancholy of the fall. 

This is my house downstairs. Not as grand looking as Lilian's. Besides, the grey background doesn't do much justice to this otherwise pretty pleasant environment. Didn't have my DSLR with me too... well, it's not something you carry around with you everyday! But I did have Lumix in my bag. Not too bad already... who carries a camera in her handbag everyday? 

I always like to observe this wall at this time of the year. There are more colours with each passing day in the fall. This will, however, be the last time I'm watching this colourful wall. 

Just a close-up to show you what I mean by colours. :) 

The brother and sister, what a rare sight indeed! 

Below are just two other pictures I took on our way home from school. Just stood amazed once again, wondering how many colours leaves could actually have! 

what do you read when your kids won't eat?

In my conversation with some of the blogger-moms here over the week, I came to realisation that I never once read anything pertaining to fussy eaters. What have I been thinking? How on earth do I still have fussy eaters to serve at each meal? No surprises there, of course. 

The truth of the matter is I did try, though I wasn't consulting any parenting books on that topic. 

Instead, I have books like "Good Enough to Eat. A kid's guide to food and nutrition." and Annabel Karmel's "Mom and Me Cookbook. Have fun in the kitchen!" I thought, instead of Mommy doing the reading, I should involve my kids in some literature that celebrates the goodness of food. 

It worked for Bryan, however, not so well with Kristin. 

Since these two books, we've come a long way: From studying the human anatomy of the digestive system to counting jelly beans on the table. With time, Bryan has changed from a plain-rice-only eater to an everything-goes boy. But Kristin... she still needs to be coaxed to pick up her spoon. Sometimes, it can really become crazy that she'd rather cry in the bathroom for 5 minutes and then return to the table willingly to start her meal, rather than a "Yes, Mommy, I'll give it a try." Strange thing is she likes to make a scene. Maybe she needs a little drama before she starts a meal. But no thanks, nope... I will not let my kids eat in front of the telly. 

Coincidentally, another mommy-friend sent me this link to an article titled "6 Food Mistakes Parents Make" in NY Times.  Clearly, we are comrades in the same struggle... everyday, three times a day! 

What do you do/read when your children won't eat? 

dash and dot

While getting ready to go to school this morning, Bryan all of a sudden asked me what it meant to have a dash and then a dot. 

For a moment (in my usual sleepy state of mind), I wondered why my son would be thinking about Morse code so early in the morning... Does he even know Morse code? Where did we read about it? etc

and then I thought again... 

"You mean the exclamation mark??? As in !!!!"

Nope... we don't have a genius here. Just a sleepy-head mommy!

 

why oh why...

Bryan has a friend who's very intelligent and likes to ask interesting question. His mom told me that he stumped a school administrator once when he was asked if he had any more question regarding the school he and his mom were touring.

He said, "Yes, one last question. Why is red red?" 

To be fair to the school administrator who was caught off guard, his mother would have been happy if this lady would just answer she didn't know but would promise to look for an answer. Instead, she gave a long lecture on red being a colour and started naming things that were red. Of course, Bryan's friend wasn't satisfied mainly because she didn't answer the question. So he asked again, "Why is red red?" Sensing the other lady's exasperation, his very wise mom swiftly whisked him away. 

I'm sure every parent of a young child would have at least encountered this why-question once in a while if not many times... maybe yours is even the type who'll always ask you why till you almost lose it. Most of the time, I just can't keep up with my children's why's and I'll tell them, "Why? Because the sky is high and pigs can't fly!" Very rarely, I'll say, oh let's go check it out on the internet. 

Tonight I was feeling cheeky... well, before you think I'm losing it again and comparing my son with another, nope.... I was really curious how a 5 year-old would react to such a why-question. So I posed the "red question" to my kindergartener. 

"Bryan, why is red red?"

"Hmmm..." He thought for a split second, then he probed back, "Why is pink pink, Mommy?" 

Hey... I think I just received a revelation: Bryan just gave me the reason why his friend asked that "red question". Don't we get it? Sometimes it's not about the answers. It's all about asking questions! Now this has certainly given me a new way to look at things. So kids, the next time you're gonna ask me another why-question, be prepared to have one thrown back at your face! They like it, to them it's just a game. :) 

what a great day to start the week...

What do a Bolivian woman, a German woman, an Iranian woman and a Singaporean woman have in common? 

They all had lunch together at my place today! Hee... a UN food convention! Lunch was such a resounding success that it was discussed promptly when and where the UN delegates could reconvene. ;)

Our similarities, however, extend beyond our interest in food. We are all mommies, we all have at least one child in the American preschool here, we are all originally not from Frankfurt. 

Told ya, Frankfurt has such a huge international community. 

Though we talked about many things over lunch, some topics invariably came back to our kids but with a bit of twist. That's why I like these moms so much. 

So one of the moms recounted that one day she accidentally walked in when the teacher was giving some kids time-out. The teacher sort of gave a "glare" like "Don't talk to them, these guys are on time out here." She left quickly. By the way, the kids concerned here were actually our kids... and guess what? We had such a good time laughing and one of the moms even cheered: Yay, serve the fella (referring to her son) right! Ok, it's not my intention to portray her as the mean witch mom here. And I know for a fact that she loves her son dearly. But what she wants is a good structure in her son's preschool years and she hopes for harder discipline! Wow... completely different from moms from my part of the world. I'm full of respect for this mom! Imagine a Sg mom marching into the school and interrogate the teacher in front of the whole class, demanding "So what crime did my child commit? How could you this and that blah blah blah... Are you sure my child was the culprit?" 

Also, we didn't complain how much stress our kids are under, nor scared ourselves silly about sending our children to thousands of enrichment classes... although we did wish that our kids had more homework. Btw, our kids love homework here! Maybe it's the lack of it that make them crave for more. Recently we've been given some flash cards to help our kids sound out the words at home and then tick off a checklist... yes, that's all, so simple. No worksheets to complete, no spelling lists to memorise, nothing to count! So with this kind of attitude, our subject quickly returned to where we could take our kids out for fun, e.g. Lochmuehle, Taunus Wunderland, Disneyland or Legoland.... 

What a pity that this kind of stress-free school-life is almost at its last chaper for us now. Soon we'll be dumped back into the cauldron of stress, rat race and paper chase in Sg... sigh! 

Wait a minute, this post is supposed to have a positive tone... ok, I got to psych myself up again for the great week ahead of me. The kindergarten class has a field trip at the end of this week. I'm gonna convince the teacher to let me tag along to take pictures, yay! 

And talking about pictures, here are what we had for lunch... sorry just leftovers... we were too eager to start that we didn't take any pictures at all! 

Clockwise from top: Rendang... (blurred out coz it didn't look as good as the one in Lilian's), bee hoon and my favourite salad to go with the curry!

Again, yummy and pretty cakes from the famous Siesmayer Cafe in Frankfurt. Thanks, Mania! 

And little cupcakes made by Fatima's lovely boys! Thank you, little darlings! 

It would have looked so much better if I had a white teapot, teacup, saucer and plate... 

P/S Representatives from Moscow and London could not make it for lunch today. Their flights were cancelled... :( 

missing germany #2

This series of "missing germany"-posts is conceived not according to order of preference. They are mainly things/people/events that come to my mind as I prepare to return to Singapore mentally. The actual packing process will have to start eventually... but after Halloween. In case your name is mentioned in this series of posts as "missing germany #39 or something", it doesn't mean you are really at position #39 in my heart nor does it mean I'll miss you any less than missing germany #1, #2, #3, #4, ... or #38. I will still miss you nonetheless. Anyway, point is please don't go murdering the other person who might happen to be in my "missing germany #38 or earlier" post. There... my disclaimer :)

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I was cooking lunch today and I was trying to think hard about what I'd be listening to if I were to back in Singapore right then and there. 

And bang! Wow... am I gonna miss this radio channel: Radio FFH. 

My history with Radio FFH goes deep, right into my uni days in Kassel. I always had my radio channel fixed on errmm, gee I don't even know what the frequency modulation (FM) is... and I call it my favourite station? Yeah... I think it's somewhere around 105.7 FM. Anyway... I somehow always manage to tune into the right station... Yep coz I can sometimes even recognise my favourite DJs' voice, e.g. Johannes Schere und Sabine Schneider - these two names have been in my head probably since my uni days till now. 

Why do I like Radio FFH so much? 

1) It has a good mix of music, of course. 

2) I listen to radio in Germany pretty often for pragmatic reasons like weather reports (important when the temperature can drop drastically within 24 hours) and news (I don't get to watch regular TV since my kids monopolise it for their own DVD shows, which reminds me why Alan and I even subscribe to cable TV when we never get to watch it.)

3) Funny programmes like "Marie aus Paris" (translated: Marie from Paris). Basically, it's about this French woman who calls up anyone and asks a funny question and the telephone conversation is recorded for entertainment purpose. e.g. She once called a yodeling group and asked if anyone in the group would sing the German national anthem when Germany played one of its European championship matches in a Swiss stadium. Yodeling the national anthem of course... Anyway, you might not enjoy the humour as much as I do, this is one of the sources where I get actual German entertainment, in this case, however, disguised with a French accent. In my uni days, it was a guy who did a similar show. 

4) Strange news, e.g. today there was some hype about teenagers in Hessia who love "Hasensprung Turnier" (translated: bunny hop competition). Really, there're such associations around! Here's a competition I found online, from Denmark. I was told that this competition originated from the Scandinavia. 

5)Alan always wonders why I seem to know where traffic congestions are on the highways. Well, when I listen enough traffic report each day, I always know which Autobahn intersection to avoid... And which Autobahn has roadworks etc... Quite an extensive geography I cover there since I don't necessarily travel the actual distance. 

Anyway... technology has improved. Thank goodness... this part of missing germany can be replicated in Singapore, any time with the web radio. Hurray for the Internet! 

Do you have a favourite radio station? 

missing germany #1

I think I'll miss "the lazy Sunday afternoon in a park" like this one:

At this age, the kids are always fascinated by the things they can find in a park, e.g. wild flowers like daisies and buttercups, dandelions (they go crazy over this one!), stones/rocks, and at this time of the year it's about right for them to start their leaves/acorns/chestnuts collections. 

Today we were out exploring Guenthersburgpark. Fabulous playgrounds for kids! Hanging out there is almost fuss-free for the adults because the kids will definitely be able to find something to do on their own! 

Besides, kids like to hang around too... ! 

Of course, they'll have a swinging good time in the park! 

Note to self: Gotta remember to write about parks in and around Frankfurt. 

pretty food

We've been out all day since 10 am! Somehow the plan to dine out this weekend did not materialize...

thus the usual fast food from my kitchen. Whenever I have only 30 minutes to cook, this is what I serve. Nothing deep-fried. And it's a completely balanced meal when it's served with some white rice. 

Easy to prepare: 

Champignons chopped, asparagus chopped, tofu cut in cubes, tomatoes diced, egg, water, sesame seed oil, soy sauce. Place the dish in a microwavable steamer, then pop it into the microwave oven for 12 minutes on high. 

What's not to like when the kids finish up the plate quickly and they do not even have to know what sort of vegetables they are swallowing down! 

Above: In the microwave, 12 minutes later. 

When Alan came into the kitchen, he teased, "Oh! Pretty food again?" 

Bryan cheered, yay decorations again! 

Kristin thought, I'm pretty, so I get pretty food! :o) 

Here's my second attempt to make my food look presentable. :) 

Now over to your kitchen, what's for a quick-fix tonight? 

shoot me!

Tell me you couldn't stop laughing. 

I was at my computer, my usual spot in the living room. All of a sudden, a very bored Bryan came up behind me and said, "Look at me, Mom!" 

I turned around and broke into a hysterical laughing fit. 

Before I came to Germany, I remember shopping for school supplies to be shipped over, e.g. art and craft materials, crayons, drawing blocks, origami papers, glitter glue etc. Books, flash cards... hoping that I would be at home happily teaching my kids. 

I was keen to teach a then 27 month-old Bryan to tell time... so that he knows what to do when and not bother me. 

I was more eager for him to learn reading than he is himself, even today. So I hope he can read on his own and not come bothering me to read to him anymore. 

I thought I would clap, cheer and laugh (read: deliriously happy) each time he reached a milestone... 

Actually... no? I don't think I laughed so hard that my bladder was gonna give way when he "shot" himself. 

counting down...

8 weeks till the movers come... 

+ 

5 weeks of temporary apartment

=

13 weeks to flying back to Sg... 

1) movers - which company? Not confirmed yet. 

2) temp apt - found one! But not booked yet. 

3) flights - searched online. Can't fixed up date yet. 

So messy... I am so NOT looking forward to moving away... sigh!

spaghetti rojak...

Instead of going to a tapas restaurant for dinner tonight, this was what we had at home. Something I whipped up last minute because Bryan had come up to me for the 5th time, asking me what I was going to cook for dinner. Someone was obviously hungry. 

For once my food looks presentable... :) 

Yep, I have a few things/people to thank: 

1) My husband who bought me a DSLR! 

2) My new DSLR that allows me to focus on the colourful noodles and blur out the untidy background of my kitchen counter. 

3) My son who helped me decorate, I mean garnish, the plate with a bit of sprinkled parsley, chilli powder and cheese. His eyes lit up when he heard that his mom was actually allowing him to decorate dinner tonight! 

4) My daughter who spilled parsley all over the kitchen floor... wait a minute, why am I thanking her for this mess? 

5) The white plate... that's why the food stands out... and that's why good restaurants always use white chinas! 

So what did we have? 

I know some people had grilled lamb and were all stuffed up to their throats at a dinner party tonight... (ok... you got it? kacau-kacau only :p)

Our plate was something pretty modest, put together with whatever ingredients I could find in my fridge. You must be thinking I stock up well... Yes, I just refilled my groceries this afternoon! ;) 

So presenting spaghetti mista: 

For the sauce, we had carrots grated, baby asparagus finely chopped, champignons sliced, bacon strips, spinach all stir-fried with shallots and then with gorgonzola cheese and cream added. What rojak! But it was delicious...

"Tell me Bryan, does Mommy cook better than Vapiano?" (Vapiano is the children's favourite pasta joint.) 

"O yes, Mommy. It's yummy!"

There... I solicited a compliment from my son... 

Aren't kids just sweet? All they wanna do is to please us parents! :) 

lessons in photography...

Am I glad that this is the internet age.

Just about everything and anything under the sun can be found on the web. 

So... I searched and studied a few websites in the past weeks, wondering how I can better use my new digital equipment. 

I stumbled upon this website that I absolutely love: 

Digital Photography School 

I picked up a few tips here and there regarding composition and alas! I was finally brought to realise what lousy photos I have been taking... or am still taking. Please... you don't have to feel sympathetic nor compelled to offer a few good words to my ear. Lousy. Period. 

I begin to realise there are so many things to look out for in those 3 seconds that I have to shoot my fidgety kids. Just to name a few things that I can remember off-hand:  

1) Check 4 corners. How often do I have photos with an errm unsightly bin at one corner? Or recently, my friend commented that one of the guys in my photos was headless!!! 

2) Using lines of geometry to define and highlight the subject, e.g. I've always been pretty satisfied with this shot, but I didn't know why. Still, that photo was done with a point-and-shoot and I wasn't thinking much then. It was a lucky shot. 

3) the rule of thirds

For those who are interested, composition tips can be studied in detail in Digital Photography School. 

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For my friends who are using Canon EOS 1000D: 

av 5.0, tv 1/80, wb @ tungsten

av 8.0, tv 1/20, wb @ tungsten

Never thought what those values meant before I got my DSLR. Now they tell me tons of things! 

best friends and playdates

I had most part of the day off... the kids were in school till 4 pm today. Now most Fridays are probably going to be a long one (yippee) since Ryan's mom has requested for play dates with Bryan on Friday afternoon unless we have travelling plans. 

Ryan and Bryan's friendship had pretty rough beginnings 2 years ago, simply because their names were too similar and for a start, people in the school weren't quite sure who's who. Even adults make that kind of mistakes sometimes. So you can imagine the commotion in the class of 3 years old, especially when speech wasn't quite the clearest then. 

Of course,  their similarities didn't stop at the names. They both like to talk, a lot! They both like to win (hey, who doesn't? ) Or should I say they both dislike to lose? They are both very bright. They both always have stories to tell... While similarities are good, these two guys, however, couldn't see eye to eye. They didn't think they could turn their similarities into a special connection. Instead, they got into squabbles with each other to the extent that one even asked the other to change his name. Hee... cute right? Anyhow, both sets of parents were kept informed, just about how tickled the teachers were whenever they heard an argument between these two guys. Harmless... we all laughed it off. It didn't take long for these two boys to finally realize that they were after all good companions. Just two months into preschool, they were best of friends. Phew! 

Ryan's parents sent Bryan home tonight after a play date. Obviously the boys have missed each other - the long summer break is one reason. But the other main reason is Ryan attending another school. The boys don't get to play with each other on a daily basis anymore. 

When it's time for us to return to Singapore, I know it will be hard for Bryan to say goodbye to his dear friend. It will be tough for him to adjust to a whole new life back home, without any friends. Just like how he started off here two years back: defensive and apprehensive... but given his talkative nature, he'll eventually find someone he enjoys talking to. 

for beginning readers only...

Our Scholastic orders just came in and more book supplies arrived at the Yeo's yesterday! 

This one was "hot" from the oven and the children loved it! 

Ok... don't know much about Kristin. Cos she was doing all kinds of somersaults from one corner of the sofa to the other, while Bryan and I were happily reading to each other. 

The one we got is "Very Short Fairy Tales". I like it a lot. Mary Ann Hoberman takes you a little further from the usual fairy tales, gives the stories a little more "what if's" and the result is creatively awesome! Haha... I probably enjoyed the read more than my kids - ok confession time: So, I buy books for myself, not for my children! 

So for boys and girls who love poetry and rhyme, 

this is a book we cannot miss at bedtime! 

By the way, the illustrations are wacky and refreshing too. 

making magical memories last...

I'm not sure if any of you out there enjoy scrapbooking. This is something I've always wanted to start... want - very different from what I actually do in real life. 

My church friend in Singapore, Emeline, does the most amazing thing: Just give her paper and glue and she makes magic! Cross over to her beautiful blog at Scrapvilla and be inspired. 

morning lark or night owl?

You Are an Afternoon Person

You can find energy any time of the day ... or night! You prefer to be out and about when most other people are. Very early mornings or very late nights aren't really your thing. You're practically solar powered, and the afternoon is when do best.

Are You a Morning Person or Night Person?

Seriously??? 

I'm one who needs an afternoon nap! Ask my kids. They won't lie! 

Just because I can wake up (occasionally - I stress again... not on a daily basis) early enough to catch a 6 am flight doesn't qualify me as a day person. A flight you know... you know the cost of missing one right? So I'm a prudent person when money is concerned but I still very much prefer night activities... ahem, ok, you ladies know what - blogging lah! What were you thinking? No naughty thoughts ok! Young people reading this blog here!

Let me tag some of you to do this one: 

1) Alcove

2) Wrong Side of Thirty - sure morning one! 

3) Cottontimer - night owl, this one :) 

4) Adventures of Babybel 

5) Taipei101

C'mon, you know who you are... start the ball rolling and tag others too! 

P/S. Let the actual time be recorded at Friday, Sep 19, 1.30 am. Something's wrong with blogspot. How is it that both my posts were published simultaneously? 

hello daddy...

K: Hello Daddy! 

D: ... 

K: It's me. This is Kristin. 

D: ... 

K: Where are you? 

D: ...

K: Why are you not coming home to sleep tonight? 

D: ...

K:  Why are you working? 

D: ... 

K: And then...? 

D: ... 

K: Oh... ok! 

D: ... 

K: Bye daddy! 

Me: Oi... pass the phone back to me! I haven't spoken to your dad yet! 

Guess I didn't have to. Cos she has already asked everything for me... and you would have guessed the other part of the telephone conversation. 

Daddy's travelling again.

It tickles me all the time listening to Kristin talk to her dad, demanding to know where and what he's doing and the whys. She's already practising the list of questions to ask a man on the phone! 

pretzel girl

pretzel girl, originally uploaded by backingermany.

Check out your new billboard model...
yep, thanks to bighugelabs.com of course!

a flower and a bee...

That's a bee pollinating. It's like the one on Magic School Bus. Hey, Mommy, I think this IS Phoebe's plant! Here are the petals.... yada yada!  

Somebody definitely has too much TV time. 

Actually, I was going to say, I need a macro lens! :D

tea-time!

Oops... I'm strong and flavourful.... black tea, anyone? 

You Are Black Tea

You have a bold personality. You're not afraid of simply being yourself. You have the courage to speak the truth. You are fearless in your actions. You come off as a bit intimidating and unapproachable. Only confident people are attracted to you. You don't try to scare off anyone. You're just an intense person!

What Kind of Tea Are You?

my little linguist?

We had a play date at our home today. Bryan's new found buddy in class, Daniel, came over with his mom and sister after school. As usual, the kids had fun: 2 gals and 2 boys, while mommies had tea. :) 

When it was time to say goodbye, Alan was very tickled by what Bryan said. Yep, it's a rare occasion that he's already home. But it was huge traffic congestions everywhere on the highways. So by the time he got into Frankfurt it was well past 6 pm. Ok, I digressed... So Bryan said without a thought in one single breath, "Bye Daniel! Tschuess Lisa!" 

To Bryan, Daniel speaks only English, while Lisa (Daniel's sister) can only understand German. Actually, Lisa can understand English very well too, but she prefers to speak German  - that Bryan didn't know. 

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I learnt from another mom today that my son was telling two of his classmates that he would teach them Chinese. 

Ha, my son teaching Chinese??? 

I was pretty curious about what he might want to teach them, so I asked him. 

"I can teach them to count in Chinese. I can also teach them to say the 12 Chinese zodiac signs." I suppose that would be quite a lot for him to deal with for now.

riding the roller coaster...

It's been a long day for the kids: They were in school from 9 am to 4 pm. They were in good spirits when I picked them up in the afternoon. Usually when they skip nap, they'll do fine until the last couple of hours during dinner time. As expected, Bryan and Kristin became cranky after their late afternoon movie (told them they could only have TV on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons). 

I was trying to explain to Bryan that the lack of rest would often cause a person to be cranky and have tantrum outbursts. Bryan, however, told me another reason behind his whines. 

"You know, Mommy, I'm on a roller coaster. There are ups and downs. And right now, I'm at the lowest point. That's why I'm upset. " 

"Where did you get the roller coaster idea from?" 

"From Ms Julie. And right now, I right down here, at the bottom!" 

"In that case, I think you'd better go and sleep immediately after your dinner so that you can be right up there again when you wake up in the morning. Otherwise, I'm gonna be right down there at the roller coaster too!"

Yep, I packed them to bed once the after-dinner reading routine was completed. Daddy was surprised by our early night when he called at 9 pm. He's travelling again. 

woohoo girl

This is driving Bryan crazy. He wants very much to be able to whistle too - it's a cool thing among the boys, like snapping one's fingers. 

But this Ah-Lian has beaten him to it: She can whistle!!! 

dr seuss to the rescue!

I know we are way behind the pace of Singapore kindergarten education. Most kids are already reading pretty fluently at Bryan's age. This video is his humble start with Dr Seuss. 

Daddy was wonderfully impressed by Bryan's clear diction. In Daddy's words, "He even read 'had' with a dropped jaw." 

a gentle giant?

The kids like to squabble whenever they are in the lift. They start to mark their territories and get pretty agitated whenever their space is not being respected by the other. 

Today, Daddy decided that he would plonk himself right between the two of them before any disagreement ensues. 

Kristin looked up at Daddy in her tiny stature and said in a tone mixed with both exasperation and amusement, "Oh Daddy, you are a big giant!" 

Daddy thought she was trying to cry "bully" in a somewhat pleasant manner. :) 

dino-mania!

Continuing from our Saturday excursion to Senckenbergsmuseum...

By chance, we arrived at Dino Fest, an event held by the museum to kindle/cultivate interest in creatures of the past. 

How else can a child learn more about dinosaur other than creating one of his own? 

Bryan sculptured his very own ankylosaurus out of clay: 

What do you think? It's a pretty close interpretation, ya? You might not be able to take a closer look at its tail. Alan and I are very proud of him that he added so much details to his mini sculpture. He did it without a single bit of help from us - hee... we hadn't the foggiest idea how an ankylosaurus looked like anyway. 

Kristin? A brachiosaurus, of course. Can't you tell? Actually, she only made some of the dino eggs. Mommy made the brachiosaurus simply because that's the only dino she knew how to make: 

Bryan's ankylosaurus, however, did not make it back home intact. It fell from great heights, from Bryan's arm to the museum ground. Luckily, we got home before the clay hardened. Still his ankylosaurus did not manage to escape the fate of amputated limbs after Bryan made his close inspection at his work tonight. 

Daddy is attempting super-glue-surgery. But it sure looks like we need to go buy some clay soon. 

leaping into prehistoric times...

Alan and  I decided that we should study the only 2 pages of dinosaur eras in the sampler booklet we have on our children's LeapPad after the kids were tucked in bed. 

We stumbled at one mouthful of word which we couldn't quite understand... 

It sounded like 

"an 'esteminosoccus' skull" to me. 

Tonight, we decided to hit wikipedia to do our "research" after the kids went to bed. After trying to spell this mouthful of latin name in vain, we decided to type in keywords to search, i.e. mammal like creature, trilobite (since this creature was found about 250 MYA during the times of trilobites). 

We finally got a hit: 

Estemmenosuchus ! 

I leave the reading to you. 

captain smarty pants!

Bryan: Ms Julie called me smarty pants again today. 

Mommy: What did you do in class? 

Bryan: She asked me to name a word that begins with the letter "s". So I told her "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious"! 

*********** 

After dinner, I told Daddy about the smarty-pants incident. 

Bryan offered more information: I was supposed to say an "s" and an "m" word. 

So I said "mom" and "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious". 

Perhaps Ms Julie was tickled by a short word and an extremely long one?

say "orang utan"

We'll check in again a year later. I'm pretty sure he'll say orang utan in Malay/Singlish. :) 

leaping into the depths of sea...

We were at the Senckenbergsmuseum (a musuem of natural history and science) again yesterday. It's probably the 3rd or 4th time Daddy came along, and every time when he was there, there seemed to be some exciting events going on. Yesterday was the Dino Fest. 

The kids were engrossed in the puppet show, though my children didn't understand a single bit of German. Still, Bryan managed to learn that a triceratop is called a Dreihorn in German at the end of the day. 

When we came to the section on the formation of earth and the continental drift theory, Mommy and Daddy were trying to make sense out of the diagrams while the kids were happily running around the museum grounds. 

Daddy: Oh, that's in English. Maybe we can read it to the kids. Hey Bryan... 

Bryan: Yes Daddy? 

Mommy: We read about the Pangea in the Dinosaur book back home right? You wanna know more about the supercontinent? 

Bryan to Daddy: O yes, but before you read that to me, I gotta tell you something first. (pointing to the chart below) You see those creatures at the bottom of the sea. They are called trilobites. There were many of those on the sea beds! Look... 

Daddy: How do you know about them? 

Bryan: Oh... from the LeapPad we have at home (a gift from his aunt in Sg, arrived on Aug 10th when Daddy came back from Sg, less than a month old!) 

At this moment, Alan and I were searching on the board for our answers... and sure enough, we found Trilobiten among the German section. I was quite amazed that Bryan could recognise the drawings of trilobites, even though I'm pretty sure Leap Pad has them in pictures. Anyway, this isn't about how much our son knows, rather how ignorant his parents are... 

Looks like we should be hanging out in the museum more often. The kids are alright. They absorb a lot just by running around in the museum! 

O yes... The Leap Pad is one good investment! 

Since then, we've been talking about the triassic, jurassic and cretaceous periods! 

What's your birth order?

You Are Likely an Only Child

At your darkest moments, you feel frustrated. At work and school, you do best when you're organizing. When you love someone, you tend to worry about them. In friendship, you are emotional and sympathetic. Your ideal careers are: radio announcer, finance, teaching, ministry, and management. You will leave your mark on the world with organizational leadership, maybe as the author of self-help books.

The Birth Order Predictor

fried bee hoon

I vividly remember the panic I was in the day before my home economics practical test when I was in Secondary 1. I was absent when my home ec teacher taught and demonstrated fried bee hoon. Being only 13, I was tear-stricken when I found out that we had to fry bee hoon for our practical test. My mom just calmly told me that she would show me how to prepare the dish the weekend before the test. "It's really simple, nothing you don't already know!" was what she consoled me with. 

Yep, I passed my home ec practical test alright! Guess all those years of chopping garlic and helping out in my mom's kitchen taught me some tricks here and there. 

It's Saturday... somehow, fried bee hoon has always been our family's weekend dish. Maybe because my mom didn't want to cook much on weekends? 

Anyhow, Chinese veg, chicken breast meat (marinated), mushroom were already sitting in my fridge. So fried bee hoon it was for lunch today! 

Verdict: 

Kristin: Mmmmh, mmmh! I like this noodle. (She said she didn't like bee hoon, but she liked the noodle. Clearly, this girl doesn't understand a single bit of dialect!) I think she likes her noodle/bee hoon al dente! Maybe that's why she prefers fried bee hoon to pumpkin rice. 

Bryan: Yummy... Mommy, can we bring this to school for lunch? 

Daddy: .... (I don't remember him saying anything, but he had three plates!) 

Phew... one dish that pleases all! Note to self: Never forget this one. ;) 

pumpkin anyone?

 

Autumn is here and pumpkin is in season. 

When Bryan saw the Hokkaido pumpkins on display at the farm the other day, he couldn’t resist. “Mom, can you make me some pumpkin rice? It’s my favourite! I haven’t had it for a very long time.” 

So it has been on my menu for almost a week now and I finally plucked myself from my usual laptop CSI dose and diligently prepared dinner while the kids napped yesterday afternoon. 

Bryan was delirious when he saw what he’s served for dinner and cleaned up his plate quickly. Kristin, however, did not like it a single a bit at all... understand my frustrations? That’s why I’d rather not cook!!!! It’s so hard to please both. 

Pumpkin rice 

to-do-list

Note to self: Gotta catch up with some friends before we move back at the end of the year.

Here's a to-do-list: 

1) Kassel

2) Berlin

3) Dresden

4) Munich

5) Hockenheim

6) London

7) Billingshausen

and if we really have a weekend free, perhaps Brussels? 

Arrrgh, it's been raining all day... grey grey grey! So depressing... :(

little ambitions...

When Bryan was 2.5 years old, he wanted to be a bus driver, specifically a blue bus driver, i.e. the bus he drives must be blue.

After his 3rd birthday and the fire prevention week in school, he decided he wanted to be a fire-fighter. Then came a craze of him wanting to be a construction worker, just like Bob the Builder. 

Since he turned 4, he's been wanting to become an air-craft pilot. He also mentioned that he wanted to be a Daddy one day and have 4 kids. 

When he started learning about stars, he suddenly took interest in space and decided he wanted to be an astronaut instead. It would be cool to walk on Mars, he said. 

Now at 5, his recent ambition has swung from the futuristic science of space & astronomy to a science that studies the past. He wants to be a paleontologist. He wants to study all about fossils and dinosaurs, he says. 

What about Kristin? 

Well, Kristin didn’t tell me what she wanted to be when she was 2.5 years, though she did mention around that period to her teachers in school that she’d like to be a superstar. 

Yesterday I thought it’d be fun to engage her in some future planning, so I asked her what she’d like to be when she grew up. 

She said without any hesitation, “I want to be a Mommy!” 

Daddy was sniggering away behind his computer when he heard her answer. 

I asked further, “And then... anything else?” 

Kristin said with a wide smile, “I want to be a Grandma!”

I suppose I should take comfort in what my daughter said there... although I would have liked for her to have some other passions other than her love for a domestic life. Funny thing that she takes interest in wanting to be a Mommy... at least I haven’t been staying at home for nothing. 

our senses...

When I picked up Bryan from his kindergarten class today, I was pulled aside by Ms Julie. 

"Now, we all know we have 5 senses, right?" 

"Of course!" I replied without any hesitation, wondering where this conversation was going to lead me. 

"When I told the class that there were 5 senses," Ms Julie continued to give examples of each sense, "Bryan insisted that there's another sense." 

"It's called the sixth sense, Ms Julie. I know about it. It's right there. You can't see it. But it's there! My dad told me about it!" 

Smarty pants #3! 

Ok, I'm gonna check with Daddy tonight, just exactly what he has been reading with Bryan?

labour day

it's a bank holiday in America, which means school's closed for today. 

I woke up feeling all miserable. The weather wasn't really the culprit, though dark clouds loomed and it started to pour even before the kids and I made it out of the house for our date with Bryan's classmate Daria and her mom. 

Well, it's the 1st of September and it means we need to start getting things ready for the move back. 

We need to terminate contracts with the phone service providers, utilities, my gym membership, our apartment etc... Movers are coming in at the end of this week to survey our place and make estimates. Basically, they aren't nice thoughts. It means my SAHM-dom will end soon, and returning to work force is imminent! 

I don't remember anticipating to move to Frankfurt with great enthusiasm. Perhaps I was too busy to even think about the move then. I was more worried that Kristin would arrive later than the EDD of Aug 25th. Then the movers came and loaded our boxes into the container by the end of September. And before I was even fully lucid between my delivery/confinement/caring for newborn/movers/packing , my husband left for Frankfurt. The kids, grandparents and I joined him six weeks later. 

I have no idea how time slipped by between Nov 15th 2005 and now. The time has come for us to pack again. Lots of things to think about now... a heavy heart... sigh!

Kristin's 3!

This post is somewhat over-due. 

Here's what happened on the 22nd of August: 

We celebrated Kristin's 3rd birthday while we're still on our road trip. So far, Kristin had only one birthday celebration in our own home. 

When she turned one, we had a bible study group meeting at a friend's place. So we brought a cake and the birthday girl over.

Her second birthday was a special one. It was just Daddy, Mommy, Bryan and the birthday girl. A quiet, but definitely a meaningful one. Still, I think she'd like a loud part any time. 

We celebrated her third birthday in a holiday chalet in Ruegen. Kristin's definitely going places because next year, her party venue will change again! 

Kristin woke up in the morning and told me that she wanted to have 3 pink candles on a pink cake. Yes, I did order a pink cake, sort of, a strawberry cream cake. But I wasn't too sure about the candles. Thank goodness that the baker knew it was girlie cake so he also provided pink candles for us that night. 

Nothing extraordinary happened, no one cried this time. :) But she did say something that made both Alan and myself feel a little guilty. 

"Yay! I'll be 3 and it's my birthday. That means I can sit on the big chair and everyone will sing me the birthday song!"

Yep, the picture of Bryan's birthday party at the indoor playground was playing in our mind. 

But sorry girl, there will not be a big birthday party for you this year. We try to be fair and equal, but sometimes life isn't always the case. What we can promise you is a party like Bryan's when you turn 5. Bryan didn't have a big birthday bash until he was 5 anyway, although his first birthday was much more elaborate since we were back home in Singapore among family, relatives and friends. 

We love you, Kristin! 

Kristin's pink cake more than 50% of the cake is PINK!

On Kristin's request: I want to have pink ice-cream with chocolate. 

A tearless cake-cutting... :) 

weekend wind-down...

Autumn's near - there's no doubt about it (just look at those apples), although the temperature for the weekend soared at 30 deg C! 

The kids were thrilled to be back at Appel Happel for the apples again. Alan and I had to stop them from picking too much. Can't do much with too many apples - not quite in the mood to bake nor puree it. Besides, the season has just begun and not all fruits are in their sweetest yet. 

Pumpkins... another sign of autumn... :(

Then we headed back to Frankfurt for lunch and some skate-scooting fun in the city centre. 

The usual Museumsuferfest (nothing much, just some info stands on the cultural options available here in Frankfurt) was along the river Main. Just whiling our time away, hanging out with crowds, expending the kids' energy, testing some shots with the new camera...

Sounds pretty sob and unhappening huh... yep, autumn means we only have three months left here! Sniff!

Skate, skate away! 

After having been a proud owner of a DSLR for a mere half month, I was telling my husband that I needed a macro lens! Haha! :p

For those who lived/are still living in Frankfurt: 

Now we all know that Goethe's born here and you can always spot traces of Goethe here and there. How about this one? Schiller! One of Goethe's closest friend. Anyone knows where to find this statue? I've already given you a clue. Just humor me on this one, ok? ;)