Catching Up

So a lot has happened before and after the big momentous move last Thursday, and this post will be dedicated to filling in the gaps.

The previous Tuesday, Lola went to a trial class at MyGym, a children's gym and fitness center located in Coda Plaza.  It's a huge, sprawling space of just soft play, with trampolines, basketball hoops, swings, slides, balance beam equipment, and all kinds of similar things that are meant to challenge her balance and build up her core strength while letting her explore and play and learn.  She loved it!  I thought she might, after her phenomenal response in the U.S., but this cemented it.  Something about the huge, open space really appealed to her.  They also do a Montessori-style gymnastics free play, basically letting the kids wander to whatever equipment appeals.  This. is. Lola's. dream.  She is obsessed with the trampoline, the basketball hoop, and the big bouncy balls.  I signed her up for a trial class but I think it was decided within minutes of her arrival at the place that we would be signing her up for a bunch of sessions.

I also had grand plans to attend an IMS orientation session to learn more about the Montessori school philosophy, but completely failed to make it.  I also had great ambitions to go to a parent-teacher cocktail party at her Baby Buddies playgroup in Causeway Bay after work - and completely failed to make that also.  Heck, all of last week I was failing left and right on every single one of my calendared events.  Try as I might, I also didn't make it to one yoga class.

I don't even know what I did on Wednesday - truly that time has been lost.

Thursday was move day as previously documented.

Friday was busy at work but I came home early because it was Mid-Autumn Festival!  We were also kept pretty busy trying to play scavenger hunt trying to locate things around the apartment.  Getting ready to to go in to work on Friday morning was... interesting.  Sadly we were too tired to go to Victoria Park to check out the lantern festival.  But maybe it was good to skip also, because I heard there were some protest-related activities.

Saturday was when we really started in earnest introducing Lola to our new second helper, Lovilyn, "Lyn" for short.  As to be expected, it has been a process.  Lola is not the type to just accept what you tell her, and she is very suspicious of new people, which is a healthy "stranger danger" instinct.  But we went back to our old apartment for one last hurrah in the pool in the morning, then to the Happy Valley racecourse to explore in the afternoon.

And Lola enjoyed a very nice bath with her new "Auntie" afterward, so I think it's progressing well.  

We also put together a little car (these pictures were taken in the midst of the process) for Lola which she can now drive around.  Unfortunately, she hasn't quite figured out how to go forward in it yet, only backward.  A lot of Saturday was spent with Lola crying in frustration because she didn't want to put her feet on the ground to walk the car, but also couldn't understand why the car wouldn't just move.  I think she liked it better without wheels, honestly!

 

 On Sunday, I took Lola to the American Club to play and enjoy the pool.  It was a bit of an ordeal, truth be told, and we ended up not staying for very long (::hangs head in defeat::).  But it was a beautiful day and getting to see glimpses of the south side on the ride there and back, with the dramatic green cliffs, the beautiful sparkling blue water, and all of the little sailboats, big junkboats and ostentatious yachts puttering around under the bright sun, never ceases to get my heart speeding up.  This is  very beautiful place.  Plus the pool at the Club was very pretty, and it felt (for the two minutes I got to sit back and relax) like a resort.
This week has been... an exercise in patience.  I feel like I am really struggling with a lot of things and I don't have an effective way to calm down and tell myself to chill out.  I am such a doer and a pleaser (all good things in my profession) but I don't know how to stop or say no or let things slide or let things go.  I also keep freaking myself out with images of what my life will be like once the twins arrive and I just don't know how it will all be managed.  And that's WITH so much help at hand so I know it all comes across as a bit petulant.

But every day I just face what feels like an insurmountable list of demands and tasks, and why do all tasks take so long to do?  I was up until past midnight the other night just ordering groceries and new furniture that we need.  And up until nearly midnight the night before figuring out how I want to organize stuff in the new apartment.

And this isn't even really important life stuff, like reviewing my escrow statement or checking our term life insurance coverage or coming up with a smart plan to better invest our money or opening that new bank account I've been meaning to do for weeks now or applying to Lola's schools or making sure things are in good shape for our extended tax filings in October.  And this is with one kid - how is it possible to keep track of all of this stuff with 3 under 3?