An Absolutely Action Packed Start to October

We kicked off the month of October here with a long weekend for National Day on Friday, October 1.  Lola was overjoyed to have a long weekend (funny how young the appreciation starts!) and we (I) promptly exhausted ourselves packing into all kinds of activities the entire weekend.  They weren't joking when they said you need a lot of energy to have children.  I also seem not to be able to help myself, throwing myself (and the kids!) into activities left and right.  On Sunday night Michael and I sat down to dinner at the club and he ordered us huge beers, then he toasted me, clinking glasses "to your [my] overdoing things."  

I had to laugh.  He is so right. I am so over the top.

On Friday morning, I took Lola to Legoland, at her request, as soon as it opened, where we rode the Merlin's Hat rollercoaster twice (there was no line and as soon as we finished we rode it again - it was great), played in the soft play area, built lego cars for testing on the tracks, built lego buildings to withstand the earthquake station, and just played with legos generally.  

Lunch options were so paltry at Legoland that we, hungry and tired, found our way to the Peninsula, that grand dame famous hotel on some of the most picturesque and famed land in TST, where we enjoyed a supremely fancy and beautiful lunch in the lobby lounge.  We got a seat right by the front windows where we had an amazing view of the fountain and the space museum directly across the street, sitting next to a huge porcelain vase of fresh flowers and while classical music played by a live string quartet soared delicately to the gilded rafters above our heads. 

It was decadent and lovely and Lola enjoyed every moment of it.  

I have to say, one of the most amazing things about her is how much adult appreciation she packs into her pint sized body.  I'm sure lots of children enjoy things but rarely do you hear them express their appreciation of it in such a prescient and poignant way.  As soon as the front doors to the hotel was opened by doormen dressed in crisp uniforms and white gloves and we stepped inside, she took a huge deep breath and exclaimed in awe, "wow it smells so wonderful in here! I love this smell!"  Her entire little body perked up in interest and it was clear she knew immediately that she would like this place.

Then we made our way to Harbor City where we walked all the way to Adventure Land (just to look around) then Toys R Us (also just to look around).  She got her princess fix.

Then we walked back to the Star Ferry pier where we sat on the upper deck and made our way back to Central.  Mind you, this was all on foot and I had no stroller - it was a lot.  On the way home, Lola insisted on sitting by herself and made me sit very far away from her as she also made a very big point of being contemplative, staring out at the water and the boats, without paying me any mind.

We finally made it home by a little after 3 pm, at which point we took a break, showered, met up with Al and Teo, and immediately headed back out to a friend's house for a playdate at their house.  It turns out they are good friends with another one of Lola's classmates who lives in the same building, so we ended up having a nice party and eating dinner there. We wrapped up by 7 pm and the kids were all in bed and zonked out by 8.

On Saturday, we all went out for a morning walk together, then relaxed and played at home, and enjoyed a nice lunch.  In the afternoon, we went to an event in Sun Yat Sen Park that I semi-arranged/organized, for moms and dads of twins who expressed interest in meeting up and/or socializing in Hong Kong.  We met not one, not two but three sets of families with three kids, interestingly ALL with an older singleton and then twins!  Two of these families were nearly exactly in the same boat as us, with an older child who was only about 2-2.5 years older than their younger identical twin brothers.  It was so interesting to see and hear the dynamics and also just to laugh, commiserate and connect with fellow parents.  

Then we all went to dinner at the American Club with Lola and Al and Teo, which was highly stressful and reminded us of how we still have a little while to go before we're probably ready to be eating in a restaurant as a family of five...

On Sunday, I characteristically overdid it again... we dropped Lola off at art class at 9 am, then I went with Siti to play with the boys at Maggie and Rose, first getting some alone time with Al, then some alone time with Teo.  It was really wonderful and I am trying hard to make sure I build in more and more of that time for the boys as they get older.  From the first I have been very cognizant of ensuring the boys have and feel that they have their own identities.  I'm sure we don't always succeed but at least the awareness and the attempts are there.

From there, we all went home around 11:45, the boys eating lunch at home while Lola and I headed to Parkview for a lunch playdate with her friend and friend's family.  After a lovely dimsum lunch, we did a stroll of the art exhibits and collection, then went to their playroom where Lola had an absolute blast flinging herself off slides and soft play areas screaming and laughing and loving everything. 

 When we wrapped that up at 3:30, we waited around to be picked up by the boys who had just woken up for their long naps, and then we headed out to the American Club where Michael took Lola swimming while I took the boys to Stanley with Auntie Lyn and Siti. 

Lola had a great time swimming with Michael, even voluntarily putting her head in the water (though when I mentioned that, she corrected me, saying she didn't put her head but rather "her mouth, and nose, and eyes, and eyebrows" in the water) and just generally being a good sport about swimming.  Al and Teo had a really great time too, strolling around Stanley, running up and down ramps and hallways, going up and down escalators, pointing out all the boats in the harbor and all the planes in the sky, and even going shopping at the supermarket.

Look at the boys eating dinner at the club - Al in particular with the mac and cheese cracks me up.

We all had dinner together, then in a very rare and luxurious feat Michael and I got to sit and enjoy our dinner together (capped off with quite a few beers, perhaps in our giddiness at this unexpected liberation) as the aunties helped us take all three kids home first.  It was probably the first time since we've become members at this club that Michael and I got to lie down on the loungers in the country club, in the adult section, staring up at the clouds and the stars, just talking and musing and enjoying the peace and quiet.

Lola decided to accelerate her push into adulthood by going to bed by herself.  I'm not sure what happened or what triggered it but when Michael and I got home in time to say good night to the kids, Lola told me she was headed to bed by herself and ushered me out of her room after I turned on her nightlight. 

It's pretty amazing to me that Lola can handle the sheer levels of activity that I've been throwing at her and she has not taken any naps.  She has also really moderated her moods well, despite being tired, they have not really devolved into the kind of epic meltdowns that we previously had to deal with when she was younger.   It makes me wonder if part of our difficulty in getting Lola to sleep when she was younger is we never fully tired her out sufficiently.  

Al and Teo are also quite high energy and increasingly show their ability to go, go go.  We barely use the carriers or strollers anymore, and they prefer to walk (or more accurately, run) every where we go.  It's been great as they all nap or sleep pretty well (other than a few incidents with Al recently). 

Whew. All of that is to say, I am pretty tired after my long weekend "off"!

It has completely not helped matters that that very night, on Sunday, the boys woke up at 1:30 am and refused to go back to sleep until 4:15 and 4:45 am, respectively.  We were horrified and at times during the work day on Monday and Tuesday I was so tired I felt nauseous.  Since then, however, we think we've figure it out - the boys hadn't eaten well enough and were hungry and woke up.  Now we are extra, extra careful to keep their room sufficiently cool and to make sure they enough for dinner!