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Happiness Is…Just Having Fun in the School Concert

October 23, 2011 in Entertainment, Ethan, Growing Up | 1 comment

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For weeks and months, Ethan had been telling me all about his concert practices in school.  Initially he would show me some of his dance steps, but as the date of the concert drew nearer, he told me he was not going to reveal anymore, because it is supposed to be a surprise.

His school’s annual concert has always been a grand affair, and this year the concert, which was entitled “The Broadway Kids – In Search of Happiness”, promised to be a truly enjoyable one, because I am a big fan of Broadway.  The school’s annual concert is performed by all the kids from K1 and K2, and is even grander than the wee concert.  Typically the K2 kids would play the main roles and the K1 kids will be supporting as dancers, but nevertheless, I was very excited.

Check out the one of the many lovely backdrops used as the concert props.

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As the date drew nearer, Ethan would grow more and more excited.  I gave him extra vitamins every day to prepare for the concert.  They had concert camps and staybacks, full-dressed rehearsals complete with makeup and photo sessions too, and when the day finally came, we dropped Ethan off at Dewan Budaya in USM at 1:00p.m. and quickly went off for lunch before coming back at 2:00p.m. to get ready for the concert at 3:00p.m.

I’d extended invitations to our close relatives and family members, but only my Mom could make it.  Ethan was thrilled.  And his sister was equally excited to watch her brother perform live onstage! 🙂

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Although we weren’t allowed to take any videos during the concert, I did see some parents ignoring the request.  I didn’t take any videos though, but the full video will be made available to us soon by the official videographer.

The show was very enjoyable and it was so much fun to see Ethan out there having fun (I’d have to say the makeup was a tad garish though, but that’s concert performance makeup for ya).  All the songs were taken from famous Broadway musicals, either in their original English forms, or translated to Mandarin and Bahasa Malaysia, all with the kids voicing and singing the words.

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Ethan’s item was a very lively and well-choreographed dance done to the song The Other Generation from The Flower Drum Song.  In addition, he also made an appearance in the Concert Finale, singing the theme song: Happiness.

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Ethan was very happy and relieved when it all ended well, and that night, he slept ever so soundly! 🙂  (I’m not surprised!!)

I’m looking forward to next year’s concert excitedly when my boy will be contributing more 🙂

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Simply Smurfy!

September 22, 2011 in Entertainment, Ethan, Funny Moments, Hannah | 2 comments

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We took the kids to watch The Smurfs at the cinema last Friday, and boy, were they excited!  Hannah sat through the entire movie without getting restless or sleepy, and both kids happily sang the very distinct Smurfs tune together with the Smurfs in the show.

After the show, I explained to Ethan how the individual Smurfs got their respective names.

Me: Ethan, do you know that the Smurfs are all named after their individual character?  For example, Brainy Smurf is brainy, Clumsy Smurf is clumsy and Narrator Smurf loves to narrate a story.
Ethan: Oh, okay…and what about the girl Smurf: “Smur-fet-tee”? (He was reading and pronouncing Smurfette the way it was spelt)
Me: The girl Smurf’s name is pronounced as Smurf-fet, Ethan.
Ethan:  SMURF-fet.  (pauses) So that means she is FAT!

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Behold, a Masterpiece!

September 21, 2011 in Entertainment, Ethan, Growing Up, Hannah | 1 comment

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Yesterday, I decided to introduce paint-stamping to the kids, using vegetables.  Thanks to my friend’s blog, it had evoked many happy memories of my childhood.  I remember as a child, I used to bring lady’s fingers and lotus root to school for art projects and such, and I remember having a good time doing it.

So as I prepared the items, I explained to Ethan and Hannah how vegetables can look pretty too, and then I demonstrated how to make the paint.  It was actually edible paint, as I used corn syrup and dropped some food coloring into it.  The kids thought it was simply magical 🙂

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They mixed the colors and made stamps of different colors, patterns and sizes.  They filled up that one piece of mahjong paper with so much color, you’d just had to smile.

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And they were so pleased to show Daddy their masterpiece when he came home…it’s still on our balcony, by the way 🙂

Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe

September 19, 2011 in Entertainment, Ethan, Funny Moments, Growing Up, Hannah | No comments

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We’re all used to hearing the Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe chant, albeit some in different versions from the rest.  Do you wanna know how my kids do it? 🙂

Here’s Ethan giving a demo:

And here’s Hannah proving yet again that the power of sibling influence is really strong… 🙂

Just for the record, here’s what they were saying:

Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe
Catch a tiger by the toe
If it wiggles, let it go!
Mmm mmm mmm…Buffalo..
Eeny, Meeny, Miny, MOE!

Fun, Fun and More Fun at AdventureZone!

September 5, 2011 in Celebrations, Entertainment, Ethan, Hannah, Vacation | No comments

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When we told Ethan we were going to AdventureZone once again, he was ecstatic!  He had been asking and asking and asking to go back there and he was really really psyched up this time.

Took all of their effort to pose and smile for the camera before I let them run into the play area…

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Amazing how much energy these kids possess.  They had 2 hours to play in the area, and after what felt like an hour and a half, Pete tells me it’s only been 20 minutes.  Thank goodness the entire area was air-conditioned.  Hehe.

This time round, Ethan was more adventurous, and loudly proclaimed that he wasn’t afraid to go down the slides now.  His favorite was the “Hyperglide Astra Drop” (rainbow) slide, which had a height of 18 feet (5.5 metres) and a length of 50 feet (15.2 metres).  This one required the us to use a mat as we slid down.  Ethan also tried the  “Double Drop” (blue) slide, which had a ball pit exit, and stands 20 feet (6.1 metres) tall and has a length of 48 feet (14.6 metres).   The red slide is called the “Demon Drop” slide, and is not for the faint-hearted.  It has a vertical drop of 24 feet (7.3 metres) and spans 75 feet (22.9 metres).  Pete got on it a couple of times, and I got on just once (because Pete dared me to).

Since Hannah was not old enough to get on the Hyperglide Astra Drop on her own, she would either sit on Pete’s or my lap while we rode on the mats.  Ethan would go over and over again, each time gaining more and more confidence.  Initially he needed our help to carry the mat up, but in the end, he would carry the mat up by himself.

Here’s a video I took of Ethan riding the Hyperglide Astra Drop all by himself:

And after a two-hour PLUS workout, we headed nearby for a totally satisfying reward: The Rasa Sayang Seafood Buffet Dinner. *burp*

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Logos Hope: Second Time’s a Charm!

September 4, 2011 in Entertainment, Ethan, Hannah, Parenting, Vacation | 2 comments

Mommy: Ethan?
Ethan: Yes, Mommy?
Mommy: Guess where we’re going later today?
Ethan: Where?
Mommy: We’re going to visit a floating bookstore on a HUGE ship! (trying to make it sound really exciting)
Ethan: Errr…no!  I don’t wanna go!
Mommy: But … why? It’s gonna be really fun!  Can you imagine a bookstore in a ship?
Ethan: NO!  I don’t wanna go on a PIRATE SHIP!!!

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Well, we’ve since made it clear to him that it’s NOT a pirate ship and we’ve reassured him that there will be NO pirates aboard the Logos Hope.

So.

Both Ethan and Hannah got all excited to get on the famous Logos Hope, which holds the biggest ever floating bookstore…and what happened when we arrived at Swettenham Pier on the first day of Raya?  The queue to get into the ship was like a mile LONG!  I remembered going onboard the Doulos years ago, and there was NO queue at all!  Things certainly have changed.  Or perhaps it was the public holiday.

In any case, we decided to come back another day, which we did, and that day was a day after Merdeka Day.  It was still a public holiday, but we were praying that the queue would not be as long.

Hurrah!  The queue was like a tenth of the LONG queue we encountered the first time, and we promptly got in line.  After about 15 minutes, we had already gotten our tickets and were on our way onboard the ship.

As we entered the bookstore proper, it was as if the air-conditioning stopped working altogether.  There were so many people that it was so difficult to move around and browse to our hearts’ content.  Add to the equation 2 kids with minds of their own who wanted to see different things at different times and you can imagine how nerve-wracking it was.

But despite all this, we still managed to land some cool stuff, some chosen by me and some personally selected by the kids.

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There was also a pictorial exhibition section in the ship called the Journey of Life, which depicts a modern day story based on The Prodigal Son.  I had wanted to take more pictures but because of the influx of visitors, I could not get all the pictures…just a few random ones of the kids…

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The cafe on the ship was also packed full of hungry visitors…so we did not stop there.  It was a memorable day for the kids and although it could have been a more relaxing visit if there weren’t so many people, we had great fun!

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Lightning McQueen – Here we come!!!

August 29, 2011 in Entertainment, Ethan, Hannah | 2 comments

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Last Friday, a day after the new movie Cars 2 officially opened in our local cinemas, we took the kids to watch it at Gurney Plaza.  Ethan had been reminding me a week ago to book the tickets online.

“Mommy, have you booked the tickets for Cars 2 yet?”

Alas, I discovered that online booking would only be available 2 days before the movie date.  I had book and pay for the tickets via e-payment ticketing, because there were no more seats available through the regular online reservation system (where we reserve and pay upon ticket collection).  Thankfully, and to Ethan’s HUGE relief, we managed to get the tickets.  Ethan even had the chance to choose the exact seats he wanted!

On the day itself, we had to drop by Poslaju first before going to Gurney Plaza.  All along the way, we’d hear:

“Daddy, why is it taking so long?”
“Are you SURE we can reach Gurney Plaza by 4:30p.m.?”
“This is going to take forever!”
“Why are we not at Poslaju yet?”
“I have been talking and talking and talking, but we STILL have not reached!”
“See?  I *told* you it will take a long time!”
“Mommy, what time do you think we’ll reach?”

Yes, he can be quite he drama king…

FINALLY, we arrived at the cinema at about 4:10p.m., 20 minutes before showtime.  We still had time to visit the restrooms, get some popcorn and get our tickets…and also some time for the kids to run around a bit.

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It was certainly an enjoyable movie, both for the kids as well as for the adults.  I would watch it again in a heartbeat 🙂

Ethan, of course, was glued to his seat and was absolutely transfixed by the movie, while Hannah was busy hopping up and down on her seat, eating popcorn and drinking water.  Towards the end, Hannah got restless and tried to get some shuteye, but when that did not work, she attempted to walk up and down the stairs on the aisle, even inviting me to come along with her.

“Mommy, I wanna go outside”
“No Hannah, the door is closed.”
“Let me see..!!!”

Suffice to say, it was quite a challenge, but a good one at that.  It was a great family date that Friday, and we were all tired but thrilled at the end of the day.

Here’s a charming little photo of Hannah, taken when the boys were at the loo, before we left for home..

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Ooooh…notice the store that will be opening soon? 😀

The Goodies that Returned with Daddy

August 23, 2011 in Celebrations, Entertainment, Ethan, Hannah | 2 comments

Daddy came back home on Sunday.  He had been away for a one-week business trip to US, and although it seemed like just a short while, we do miss him dearly.  Ethan, especially, told me how much he misses Daddy.

Therefore it goes without saying that when Daddy arrived at our front door last Sunday afternoon, he was greeted with cheerful faces, hugs and kisses.

…and then the kids swarmed around Daddy, saying, “Daddy, I want present…” 😛

Well…urm…we’re still working on steering the kids away from too much materialistic ideas, but you know, kids are still kids…

Anyway, here’s a glimpse of some of the goodies and surprises Daddy got for the kids…

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One could never ever go wrong with Cars 2.  With the movie release set for later this week, Ethan was definitely thrilled to see this 4-piece die-cast set.  He did not own any Cars die-cast *anything* before this, so he was overjoyed when he saw it.

As a bonus, the kids also got a new Lego set; Cars 2 themed as well.  That’s the box it came from, by the side of Hannah.

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…and it had all these new cool Lego pieces, from which awesome buildings could be constructed!

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And then, especially for Hannah, Daddy got her a pretty nifty little teapot set.  It had the sound effect of water/tea/coffee/Milo being poured out and also says things like “Why, thank you!”, “You’re very welcome!” and “More please!” to teach the child manners.

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The kids also needed some new shoes and sandals and Pete chose some really great ones, at unbelievable clearance prices…anyhow, Ethan was too busy playing with his toys to bother trying them on, but Hannah, of course ever the willing *tryer*, wanted to try out all her new stuff.

Aren’t her new sandals daintily pretty?

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Oooh…and I love her new pair of Mary Janes! 🙂

Memories are Made of These…

August 20, 2011 in Entertainment, Ethan, Funny Moments, Hannah, Vacation | 2 comments

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Whenever Daddy travels away on a business trip, we all miss him dearly.  But on the flipside, the kids and I really look forward to spending some top-notch quality time with Ah Ma and Ah Kong from Ipoh.  You see, my parents will try their very best to come and accompany Ethan, Hannah and me in Penang during Pete’s absence, and I am eternally grateful for the “extra hands” they lend 🙂

The kids enjoy the story-telling sessions and the undivided attention they get from Ah Ma and Ah Kong, and likewise, I would say the reverse is also true. 🙂

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Sometimes, if the timing is right, we will also take a drive down to my hometown in Ipoh for a short holiday.  The kids enjoy their time spent with their grandparents and they get to do a myriad of activities in Ipoh too.

Well, we recently had this golden opportunity again, and even though Ethan kept asking if we had arrived yet, all the way from Penang to Ipoh (Hannah was fast asleep, naturally!), both the kids were overjoyed when we finally reached our destination…would have reached earlier had I not been delayed by a police roadblock, where I was flagged aside and asked to show my driver’s licence…not for speeding, rather it was a random check that was being conducted.

Anyway, I digress…

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We spent 4 days and 3 nights in Ipoh…so what did the kids do to occupy their time?

Look how simple it is to keep kids entertained (albeit for only a short period of time).  The Ipoh City Council is using the parking coupon payment method, where we need to scratch out the date and time on a coupon and then display it in the car when we park.  Ethan and Hannah then used these used coupons to further scratch out the rest of the numbers, using coins.

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Look how engrossed they were… 🙂

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The kids enjoyed taking their baths with a scoop container too!  With the weather being so hot, a cool bath definitely helped to lift their spirits and upped their energy levels.  There was no problem whatsoever when I announced it was time for their baths.

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In Ethan’s words, he said, “Wow Mommy…it’s SO cooling, I love it!”

Ethan’s favorite computer game in Ipoh is Solitaire.  I was incredibly amazed at how fast he picked it up and soon was able to play on his own.  He was so impressed when he completed his first game ever…announcing to everyone, “Look!  I made mountains with it!!  I win!”

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We all have been there and done that now, haven’t we?  Maybe it’s time to introduce FreeCell to him 🙂

While walking around in Kinta City, we came across a height and weight machine, and Ethan remembered that I had asked him to remind me to measure his height and weight.  And of course, if Ethan gets on it, so will Hannah…

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I’m happy with their height and weight, especially since their BMI readings showed that both Ethan and Hannah were in the healthy zone. 🙂

Lastly, of course, any vacation is incomplete without the presence of good food.  Although this time round I did not get to eat the usual Ipoh fare, the kids did enjoy the yummy food.

Hannah discovered a love and appetite for wan ton mee, especially the one Ah Kong ordered from the hawker that rides past the back lane of the house.  Great tasting food that comes straight to your door, who could ask for more?  I was surprised she could eat half a plate all by herself, including the wantons!

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At the special buffet lunch at Excelsior Hotel, Ethan and Hannah had fun *making* and *creating* their own signature dishes…and tasting them too, of course!  They were excited because I told them it would be just like in MasterChef!! 🙂

Here’s Ethan tasting his version of koay teow soup:

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Hannah eating her own creation of “ABCD” (I had told her it was “ABC” but she added the “D” in herself!):

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…and Ethan wanted a go at making his version of ABC too…but he ended up drinking “strawberry soup” instead!

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We all sure had a good time in Ipoh 🙂  Thank you Ah Ma and Ah Kong for the excellent hospitality!  We look forward to more visits and enjoyable times soon! 🙂

Bubbles Bubbles Everywhere!

August 18, 2011 in Entertainment, Ethan, Funny Moments, Hannah | No comments

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A few days ago, I decided to inject a moment of surprising fun by taking the kids downstairs to the swimming pool area for a bubbly fun time!  Of course, I could only do that at that time because my Mom and Dad were here for a visit from Ipoh, and I knew they would also appreciate the session…plus there would be more hands to look after the 2 extra active kids! 😀

Ethan and Hannah took to it immediately, and it was a good thing I brought 2 separate bottles of bubble water, one for each of them.  Ethan had done it before at our swimming pool area, but it was a first for Hannah.

Ethan was a complete pro and managed to blow beautiful big bubbles in abundance and with tremendous ease.

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Hannah, however, appeared to be using all her might and strength to  make bubbles.  She managed to, a few times, and we all laughed together at how funny she sometimes looked (and sounded).

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Ah Ma and Ah Kong were the designated bubble bottle holders (and sometimes “demonstrators”) and the kids would then dip their bubble-making sticks into the bubble solution to make bubbles.

It was definitely a fun and enjoyable activity, which I am sure the kids will enjoy again and again and again.

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