our house has arrived!

We weren't exactly given a chance to catch a breath. Our container arrived at the foot of our building at 9.30 am! 

This will be unleashing the 195 boxes from our home in Frankfurt for unpacking. In addition, we brought back another 16 pieces of luggage when we flew back on Christmas Eve. I'm not looking forward to my next few weeks. What did they say this day was again? Boxing Day? Yeah, right! 

Christmas is in the air

Our calculated move to sacrifice part of Christmas and fly back to Singapore in a relatively empty long haul flight backfired! 

Who would have thought that the earlier flight from NYC to Frankfurt and then to Sg would end up having technical troubles and then cancelled? Who on that flight would have thought that he would miss Christmas in Perth/Sydney? Who would have thought that our flight would become part of the replacement to get the passengers home as soon as possible? 

I was told that there were no bookings for 1st class that night, while the business class and economy had 12 and 80 booked passengers respectively. So really, we could have had one row each to ourselves to sleep! BUT... sigh, no luck lah! 

In any case, our kids were really angels! They ate, watched videos, and slept. We made the wrong move of placing Alan between the kids during the 1st 8 hours of the flight, while I sat a row behind them with a mom and a son. Though I don't understand much Italian, the woman was scolding her son the whole time to keep still, while in actual fact, I didn't even hear the son make a single squeak. I think my kids were much louder than him. And then, she continued to apologise for scolding her son. I was, huh? Much later, she told me that she was afraid of flying. So that was the reason why she was so uptight that even each breath her son took would irritate her. In the end, I couldn't get a single wink in the first 8 hours until I switched place with Alan. And it was fantastic. The kids and I managed to contort ourselves into some positions which allowed all of us to lie down for a while. Actually, I was the one choreographing the moves, while the kids slept through. Alan was happy to get his aisle seat to stretch his legs. 

Comparing with our other single trip out of Sg three years ago, this flight went like a breeze. Then, I was travelling with my parents, Bryan at 27 months and Kristin at 12 weeks. A toddler who wanted to go up and down the aisle and a baby that I had to carry out of the bassinet once the seat-belt-sign was on. And this time round, we just slept... all slept even it was a couple of hours for me... it really is getting easier and easier each time we fly. Guess what? They don't even need their milk anymore when we travel. 

Krisworld never fails to captivate the kids' attention. Yes, Singapore Airlines is a great way to fly, indeed! 

last fruits...

These were the last batch of chilli I harvested from our balcony before we moved out of the apartment. They were all freshest of green in November. 

A month later, they all turned beautifully red. Alas, no more opportunities to cook. 

Bye bye my last fruits! 

bye bye my garden! 

sushi chef

Ever since Bryan made a new friend from Korea in his kindergarten this year, he's been into seaweeds and maki's. It wasn't difficult to get him excited about dinner one night when I said we were going to make maki's. He was very ready to help indeed. 

"I can make sushi's, Mom. It's very easy," he boasted. 

Thus came the challenge after having observed me for a few rounds. 

Yes, you're up, Bryan! 

Not too bad for a 5 yo and a first-timer. 

If only Kristin was into eating maki's too... 

smuggled aqua

Nowadays, I'm usually dehydrated whenever we fly. It isn't so much due to the dryness inflight, rather the security regulations intact to make sure nobody brings bottled water through the security area. And searching for a bottle of water at the duty free area's can sometimes be as difficult as looking for water in a desert! 

Bearing all those security regulations in mind, we had a water parade just before entering the checks. And this was the only one we forgot. It was still in our bag. A few days later, as I was unpacking I discovered this little bottle of aqua. Apparently, the Spanish checks at Barcelona had missed it. Tzzk tzzk tzzk! So much for safety regulations! 

bryan the daddy

During the Christmas concert last Friday, Bryan was playing Daddy to three boys and a baby. This was Bryan, the Daddy Pilot with his lovely wife, Daria! 

It's pretty obvious that he'd like to have children too, right? 

Wait till he discovers expired warranty!!! :D

it's too late now, isn't it?

Daddy, if you're reading this, you should know that our son here has the utmost sympathy with you. He told me, "Poor Daddy. He's back in Singapore working. Must be very boring and tiring." 

And me here? How come I never seem tired enough to the kids? I have been doing nothing other than shuttling them around between school and play dates and then fussing about their meal times, bedtime routine and sleep... and then my night duties to do dishes and laundry begin. 

In my very nasty mood and total exhaustion, I asked Bryan and Kristin a rhetorical question: Why didn't I keep a hobby instead? Yep, instead of... What a bad mom I am! 

Bryan was quick to catch my exasperation and replied, "But it's too late now, isn't it? You shouldn't have ordered us from God." 

Yes, certainly my own fault! 

He went on, "And you can't give us back to God now."

"So will you want to have children when you grow up?"

"Ermm, no thanks Ma. I can't. I want to be an astronaut. Astronauts can't have kids. Err... wait, I think I can't make an astronaut. I probably have to wear glasses. So errm... I can be a rocket scientist instead." 

Hey, rocket scientists or astronauts can still procreate. Besides, won't you wanna know what Bryan's kids might think about (not) having kids in the future?

14 more days and less...

Less than two weeks to departure... 

I've already called home, left a message with my parents. 

Told them they should be hanging out with their friends as often as possible. 

Coz when I'm back, I'll be sending my kids to them for a week. 

I'm looking forward to that!

Otherwise... it's just so sad now... 

quirks and twists...

Alamak... no mojo to blog and I still got tagged by Rojak Rendezvous and Wrong Side of Thirty to talk about my random stuff of 6. Thanks ladies, I know what you are up to. Once an IAA, always an IAA... so now the IAAs have hunted me down to join the IAAs again... ha! 

I gave a long hard thought on what kind of idiosyncrasies I could possibly have... really long one, while I was out at the gym this morning working out, driving through the city avoiding all traffic congestions, and over at a friend's place for play date. Ermm, actually my kids had a play date. We mommies just chilled and talked. Nice, the play date of course, not my quirks. 

My bestest friend - she lives in Munich now - would be the next best person (other than my spouse) who can tell you about my other random 6's. But here is the list of 6 I can come up with: 

1) The one about the toilet/bathroom

I'm sure this is pretty common, esp when public toilets are concerned. E.g. I would rather hold than go into a dark, dirty and smelly public toilet. Who wouldn't? But this isn't the end of my quirk. 

This one is about my friends' toilets and bathrooms.

During our uni days, Al and I used to visit friends who lived in various German cities. Once, a friend was out of town, so we could visit the city and at the same time stay over at his apartment for free! How nice! When we got back to Berlin, we received a call one day from this friend who insisted that he was being questioned by the police. Coz his whole bathroom and kitchen were sparkling clean... Not a single fingerprint at all! Of course, that was a joke. I wiped down his whole bathroom coz I just couldn't use the shower anymore. There I was on my holiday, and I was out at the supermarket getting cleaning agents to scrub down the house. Since then, whenever friends hear that I'm coming-a-visiting, they will usually do bathroom inspections first. 

Ok, those were the days before the kids came along. Now my standard of hygiene is not up there anymore. Or rather my tolerance for filth has overtaken my idiosyncrasy. So don't expect me to clean your bathroom or house when you have me over as guest. Be realistic, I'll be bringing crumbs along... I mean, kids! My kids will be bringing crumbs along. If not, they'll make some on the spot. 

2) The one about keeping scores

I love to play games... but I suck at keeping scores. I can play a winning game (erm, not keeping scores, but I win. See the contradiction?). Yet whenever anyone mentions about keeping scores, my hands will start to jitter, my heart will be pumping at its maximum, I will start to hyperventilate and then... bam! I lose the game! Whatever game... it can be badminton, tennis, computer games or even mahjong... I crack easily under pressure. I mean, I totally disintegrate. 

3) The one about truancy

The first time I skipped a class, I was 19 when I was at the uni. And I loved it!!! Ha... Yep, my partner in crime and I decided to give our lecture a miss and go do some shopping instead. How did we like it? We wondered why we didn't start with truancy any earlier! So ultra sad... P.A.T.H.E.T.I.C. 

4) The one about dirty laundries

I hate doing laundries with a vengeance. First I got to separate the clothes... the colours... dump them into the washing machine. Sort them out again before I dump them into the dryer. Hang up those that cannot be tumbled in the dryer. Then fold the clothes... and finally put the clothes back into the closet/cupboards/drawers... whatever! And as I'm doing this meme now, I'm running back and forth between my room and the laundry room... HATE it! 

Let me scrub the bathroom floor ANYTIME! 

5) The one about going solo

I was always on stage as a kid and a teenager... a performer of sort. In primary school, I danced... a lot. And finally when I became a senior and I got my first solo, my mom made me quit my ECA. She thought I should be concentrating on PSLE. So can you imagine what ECA points I got? Nothing! For being in the cultural dance club from P1 to P6 (half year)! Luckily ECA points weren't a big thing then. 

During my secondary school days, I was busy with the Chinese Orchestra. Always on stage, backstage, but never in front of the stage to enjoy a concert, not once did I get to be an audience on Founder's Day, Youth's Day, Teachers' Day, School Concert Night, Chinese New Year Concert or National Day Celebration... sigh! Anywayz, this time, I got another opportunity to perform solo again. Luckily for my ego, my mom didn't make me drop out, even though it was the O level's year. Otherwise I would have been devastated! 

6) The one about a TV/newspaper celebrity... just a little one. 

Hee... can you believe it? I had a little air time on national TV when I took part in a competition at Primary 3. Do you still remember the Chinese quiz show for Primary School Students? Yep I was one of them!!! :p

I was in a little column too when a newspaper journalist interviewed me. Ok, no proof now... But I'm sure my parents still have the newspaper clipping somewhere.  Be sure to ask them for it when you meet them! ;) 

There... my random of 6. 

Let's cross over to Simple Abundance and Adventures of Babybel and read what others have to say about their 6's. Helen and Ivana, you have just been tagged. 

going public...

bACk in Germany can be accessed on the Internet again! Yep... I'm opening up my blog, so please be kind with your comments, ok? My dear fellow readers, you won't have to keep logging in or keying in password to access my blog anymore. No more hassle, right? 

Don't ask me why this decision now... Maybe it's coz I think we won't be bACk in Germany for long now. 

 

first movies...

Bryan's first movie ever was Ratatouille. He was about 4 years and 3 months old. He sat in the cinema flanked by Mom and Dad. Still, half way through the film, he cried. Daddy quickly swooped him off his seat and brought him out for some fresh air. 5 minutes later, he was back in the theatre again. Except for that little hiccup, Bryan managed to sit through the whole movie. 

Kristin's first movie ever was Madagascar 2. She was about 3 years and 3 months old. A whole year younger than Bryan. I didn't expect her to sit through. But she did! Not once did she scream, nor was she clingy... she sat on her own. Actually, she stood for some time. Swayed between Bryan's and my seat. Then she sat some more, ate popcorns, while her eyes were still fixed on the big screen. And when the music came on, she had no qualms to jump off from her seat and dance! No tears, no fears! Hurrah! Looks like Mommy can go for a movie more often now! With the kids. 

The theatre was almost just ours. Bryan, Kristin and I with Bryan's friend and his friend's mom. There were a couple sitting right at the back. How cool was that? It was private viewing!