Thursday, September 29, 2022

Scooter and Balance Bike Madness

There is something about kids running around giggling and cackling their heads off as they play that is so satisfying!

All three are now down with a cold, but here they were earlier this week, just having a grand old time. 

Activities Recap

 Lots of fun activities for the kids these past few weeks.  We are still getting by without our driver, so  more public transportation and Ubers for the kids.

Lola went to try her drama class.
Boys continue with their mandarin playgroup with teacher Sophie.
We went to a playdate at a friend's house on the Peak and stayed for dinner. We got a stunning glimpse of the harbor.
Random shot of boys giggling over breakfast with Siti on Saturday morning. (During the week boys now eat their breakfast at the harbor before class).
Teo at the playground.
Lola doing her homework
Lola went to try taekwondo at Spring academy on the weekend.  Her instructor told me she did really well, and they demonstrated some of her high kicks for me.  Go Lola!
Al at Minisport (the boys are so darn cute in their uniforms).



Monday, September 26, 2022

Sunday Shopping and Mall Hopping in Causeway Bay

On Sunday morning we played tag and hide and seek and took the lift in Times Square Causeway Bay about 15 times.  Then we went to the Lego store and Parsons music, then had lunch at Muji Cafe.

Three Little Monkeys Jumping on a Bed

So freaking adorable. 

Sunday, September 25, 2022

Wants vs Needs and Making the Best of Everything

Been busy since my last post, and it's clear I am again falling prey to my tendency to take forever to post because I am trying to catch everythign up at once.

Here are some pictures and notes of everything we have been up to:

Last Saturday, Lola went to try a mindful kung fu class.  It was fun but the boys in the class were so immature and, in her words, "there was no board breaking."  Touche my dear.

We tried out a Mandarin tutor on Saturday morning for Lola (to work on her Chinese homework) and the boys (to read Chinese books with them) but that isn't going to work out. The lady was nice but I got the distinct sense that she didn't want to work with us.  Maybe I stressed her out with my action packed Saturday?  Anyway.

While Lola attended the mermaid event at Waterworld with Siti I stayed with the boys for their Mandarin session and enjoyed lunch with them as well.

Siti and Lola told me later it was sooo hard to get a spot and had to get there promptly at 10 AM.  No matter, it seems she still had a great time and Siti told me Lola really, really didn't want to leave. She loved jumping into the water.  Girl went from hating water to loving being submerged.
But leave Lola had to and did because we went to a great birthday party at the AMC with a really amazing magician who pulled a live rabbit out of a box, multiple red balls out of thin air, and most impressively, a real ring out of a fresh whole kiwi.  Lola was so brave and volunteered to be the assistant.  She took it very seriously and was a pro. So calm and serious but also excited!
After that Lola was more than ready to go home and relax and play on her own and read some books.

 I then went with the boys to Baumhaus for a makeup music lesson where I got to spend some time with them playing dancing and singing, and then playing in the playroom afterward.  It was so nice to be able to hang out with them and focus on them, which I so rarely get to do.

On Sunday Lola went to her morning art class.  

After dropping her off I took the boys to the beach first, where we met up with our friends who also have an older daughter and twin boys, also about two years apart.  It's always hard to go from one kid to two but going from one to three...  we are in a special world (combat zone) of our own.  

As you may be able to tell, I am trying to find pockets of time where I can focus on the boys more directly without their sister around.  As Al and Teo get older I am painfully aware of how much less time I have had with them, made even more so by the fact that they are twins. I also really want to make sure I spend quality one on one time with Al and Teo, separately.  I am very cognizant of the fact that they each deserve my full attention.  It is so hard.

While at the beach we met *another* set of twin boys, whoa!  The couple had three kids, but their combo was older twins followed by a third kid... all boys. 
I succeeded in bringing Teo into the water with me, and then Al also, without loud or insistent crying, which I counted as a huge win. We also spent some time building sand castles and playing. Lola then arrived and also came swimming.  The water was very clear and clean that day.

Water is extremely hard because I am only really able to play with each kid one at a time to be safe, although if I have Lola and Teo both with floaties on and if the ocean isn't rough, I can now manage them both simultaneously. 
The kids (all six of them!) then headed into Maggie and Rose for lunch, following which the boys headed home for naps, Lola and I headed home after we did more playing, and we all agreed it was very enjoyable.

Later that afternoon, we headed to Sun Yat Sen where the kids had a playdate with some really good friends to bike, scooter, picnic and play together.  It started raining just as we headed out.  Our friends were acting like they would melt if they got rained upon, but we managed to convince them that it would be fine. I got completely soaked walking in the rain with Al (I was finally able to give him some one on one attention) but it was so refreshing to see the unrestrained joy on all of the kids' faces as they ran through the rain and grass and jumped in puddles in bare feet. 

Children, amirite?  It was a great reminder that what we think we need in this life are often only what we want, and that those who "want the best of everything" will always struggle to be as content in their live as those who are able to "make the best of everything."

Friday, September 23, 2022

A Series of Late Nights: A Trip Tentatively Booked

I went to bed very late last night and the night before and even later the night before that. This typically happens when I get caught up in something (this time it was travel planning) and get all excited.  When I do this I wake up in the morning a shell of myself, hollow eyed and so lethargic it feels like a physical ache.

 It is a horrible habit that I need to learn to break.  

But I have booked a family trip for Christmas!  It will be my first flight and travel outside of Hong Kong in over 3 years.  Having searched various sites, hotels, airfare and played the tricky and elusive tango of getting everything to align (for 7, potentially 8 people!), I pulled off a miracle in this new stage of frenzied revenge tourism. 

We are "only" going to Cebu, and basically an all inclusive resort at that, but it's progress. They have a beautiful marine sanctuary on site, connecting rooms, lots of swimming pools, kids activities galore, and decent food.

When I look at the physical proximity of the geography I have traversed in the blur of the past 36 months, I can barely prevent myself from wincing. My previous drop-everything-to-go-anywhere-can-do-anything adventurous self feels shrunken, diminished.  

After all my hours playing travel agent I now have reawakened my wanderlust and have a long list of places and things I hadn't dared let myself even think about for the past 3 years.  Just having something booked, even if it's still a long way away, tentatively on hold / fully cancelable in case we need to change plans, makes me feel soooo goooood.

Friday, September 16, 2022

Lola Action Shots

Look at some shots from Lola swimming and playing tennis yesterday and today, what a champ she is!

My favorite may be this picture
 though.  Now that's contentment!

The Best Entertainment

You buy the kids so many toys and gifts and then what do they love most?  The free cardboard box that held their diapers, and the bubble wrap.

Thursday, September 15, 2022

An Excursion to Lee Tung Avenue for Lanterns and Ice Cream

Here are a few pictures of our excursion to Lee Tung Avenue yesterday afternoon.  We walked all the way down, at times forming a human chain through our held hands.

Look at all the lanterns!

Popo (my mom) promised them some ice cream.  
We went to The Baker and the Bottleman.
It's actually a counter for a wine bar but the kids quickly changed that!
We bought some bread at Eric Keyser:
We waited a long time for the bus and finally took it home.