This is probably something very mundane to most but we don't have a lot of train crossings in Singapore. So having to stop for one for a good 10-15 minutes and watching it go by is an experience. Not sure if I want to experience it again though ... I can see the hassle of waiting for it and the frustration if you are in a hurry.
That's right, I've never touch snow before. The closest I've gotten to it was at the glacier on a section of the Rocky mountains some 30 years ago when I went to Canada with my parents. It was more ice than snow so I don't think that counts.
Since I am stuck in Minneapolis for the night and there is snow everywhere I took the chance to walk right outside the lobby of the hotel to get my first touch of snow. And of course I took a video of it.
Kids were very excited when Meimei showed them the video. Ok so at least there is a 'bright' side to missing the connection flight.
Traveling for work again and this time I was the only one asked to be there in Cincinnati ... in the cold of winter. I missed my transit at Minneapolis because when we landed there was no gates for us to disembark. We were stuck on the tarmac for 40 minutes and coupled with the international arrival TSA, I had 5 minutes left when i cleared it.
I think I ran a full 2.4km from one end of the airport to the other and missed the flight by 5 minutes.
The Delta counter gave me and everyone else (there was a long queue and they were familiar faces from the same flight I was on) a free hotel and $15 meal coupon. Unfortunately I didn't have my luggage with me so I had to brave the cold with whatever I had on. And it was cold cold cold. I had steam coming out as I take a breath.
Cutting cake with YeeYee
First hand account by Yeeyee:
Last Saturday I was cutting the Rich and Good mango cake for 阳阳
Me: this is mango cake
阳阳: I love mango! Do you know mango is my favourite?
Me: Oh I like it too!
阳阳: yes… I wish papa mama name me Mango…
Me: … really? How about I call you Mango?
阳阳: (smiling and nodding) ok
Me: alright Mango, would you like to have some mango cake?
阳阳: (smile faltering) I think…. Justin is fine…
LOL
It was kinda a spur of the moment thing. We had 'planned' to go to the beach if weather permits and we woke up early enough. We didn't tell the kids beforehand so as not to disappoint them when the weather turns bad.
Thankfully it was sunny so we made our way to the beach and they had loads of fun at the shoreline. They went all in, soaking in the waves in their clothes. We top off the trip with an hour at the swings.
I like outdoor activities for the kids. It's so much better than getting coup up at home or strolling aimlessly at the malls.
Noting down an incident of pure stubbornness. Meimei had repeatedly asked 萱萱 to put on long pants when we were going to cycle at the basketball court. This is the result of her refusal to do so. 萱萱 and 阳阳 got into a collision accident and 萱萱 came out of it worse off. 阳阳 cried his lungs out cos it hurt his bum but it was just in the moment. 萱萱 had it bad having the front of her shin injured but she didn't cry. That said, Meimei and I used this moment to teach her about listening to parents. We may be nagging but we meant well. Hope she learns it soon ...
It's been a long time since we were out for a meal together because of Covid. So this year we planned a Christmas lunch at my (our?) favourite buffet - Melt Cafe at Mandarin Oriental. And it didn't disappoint. I was pleasantly surprised that they kept the quality and spread as before Covid. Many places had cut corners because of the pandemic and raging inflation. And to top it off, they have a special kids room where they have pizza, pastries, candy and all other delights plus movie to keep the kids entertained while parents enjoy their lunch.
Continuing the school holiday 'fun' we brought the kids to the jewel sky garden. It wasn't really much, at least not for what it cost. 阳阳 was afraid of the slide and only 萱萱 had any sort of fun. Towards the end 阳阳 was pretty tired and he seemed to be running a fever so we had to leave immediately before we could get lunch. It was the right decision, he had caught a bug from somewhere ...
We had signed up for these a couple of weeks ago. Both kids attended the piano trial but it feels to me like 萱萱 would benefit more since she can read the instructions on the books. 阳阳 has to be guided closely so it may take awhile for him to get into it. Plus we don't have unlimited funds so we need to plan what makes sense for the kids. I suggested to Meimei to have 阳阳 go for IcanRead classes as a priority and maybe substitute OO's IcanRead for piano. We'll need to think about it a little more.
And here we are again. Its the school holidays after all and we didn't want to deny 萱萱 the chance at the playground. Plus it was obvious 阳阳 would have more fun too with his 姐姐 around. As much as they bicker, they enjoy each other's company when it comes to playground or sport activities.
阳阳's dressed up for year end performance. He was able to participate only because he is part of the hip-hop class. He hated the make-up though and was sulking the whole time till the performance. Once it was over he insist to remove it right there and the teachers couldn't change his mind. I find the makeup too tacky and girly so it was good he got it off.
I know it was exciting for us to see 萱萱 dance when she was in pre-nursery and it's unfortunate other parents didn't get to enjoy that part of pre-school this year. Hopefully next year they will resume the year end performance for all students so we'll have a better show.
