Bible Verse of the Day

Hannah

All about Hannah

Snow: Work and Play

December 5, 2012 in Ethan, Exercise, Hannah, Milestones, Parenting, Vacation | No comments

When life gives you lemons, go make some lemonade, so the saying goes.  And when life gives you snow, you smile, and make work seem like play!

Last Saturday morning, we awoke to a blanket of snow covering the landscape.  The weather forecast had been true to the dot and it had snowed through the night.  In fact, it was still snowing in the morning, and inevitably, our car was also covered with snow.

It was a good thing though that Pete had switched our initial minivan to a medium-sized car, so there wasn’t so much snow to clear off the car, but Ethan and Hannah were only more than willing to help!  It was a brand new experience for them, and c’mon, which kid would pass on an opportunity to play with snow?

The snow has all melted since that day, and the weather is slightly warmer now (i.e. 10-12ºC), however we have been told by the locals that it typically does not snow till January.  Would we be looking at colder days and nights ahead?  Would the kids have enough snow for a snowman?  Will we be having a white Christmas this year?

Only time will tell… 🙂

Fallen Leaves Can Be Fun Too!

November 28, 2012 in Entertainment, Ethan, Hannah, Parenting, Vacation | No comments

It has been slightly more than a week since we arrived in Massachusetts, and I’m pleased to note that the worst of jet lags has been over and done with.  In the first couple of days, both kids were “operating” at odd hours; i.e. when one slept, the other was wide awake and vice versa.  This had resulted in very tiring days, but now they are more or less accustomed to the time zones, and wake up at appropriate times in the mornings, with no afternoon naps and sleep at about 9p.m. or 10p.m. each night.  Trying to get them to sleep earlier though.

However, since our shipment from Malaysia has not arrived because we have not moved into our permanent apartment yet, the kids are mostly entertainment-less in our temporary hotel: no toys, no books.  They only have several Lego blocks we brought along and some McDonald’s toys to occupy themselves with.

I could tell they were bored.

So one of the mornings, when it was nice and warm, I decided to take them leaf-hunting, for a simple project I had in mind.  It was the tail-end of Fall and the beginning of the cold winter season.

We picked some pretty leaves in golden, red and yellow hues…

The plan was to pick 2-3 leaves each, but we ended up with so many!  The pretty leaves were so hard to resist, and the kids had a lot of fun too!

Then I had them write their names on some Christmas cards I had brought along, and also decorate them.

Finally, they added one of the leaves they had collected as a finishing touch, and put it in the envelopes.

Now we just need to find out where the nearest postal office is, or mailbox…so that we can send those cards out! 😀

A Very Long Journey Here But We Made It!

November 22, 2012 in Ethan, Growing Up, Hannah, Parenting, Vacation | 3 comments

Those who read my personal blog and follow me on Facebook and Twitter would have already known that we have touched down safely in Marlborough, Massachusetts, in the United States.  This would be our home for the next several months.

I still can’t believe we’re here though.  There were many obstacles along the way which we had to overcome, tired though we may be; but we eventually did.

Well, first of all, the packing and shipping was a big rush given the short timeframe, so undeniably, there were many late nights, with insufficient sleep.  Our flight out from Penang to Hong Kong on November 17th was at 7:40a.m. in the morning, and we were expecting our cab to arrive at 6:00a.m.  With the last minute packup and check of our home before we left, we had to wake up at the ungodly hour of 4:00a.m.!  I only went to bed at close to 2:00a.m.

Well, we made it to the airport on time though 🙂 – and although the check-in officer took a LOOOOOOOONG time to get our boarding passes ready, we boarded on time and were well on our way to Hong Kong.

Our first connection to Hong Kong was a relatively short one, and the kids were not tired at all initially.  Hannah fell asleep towards the end of that flight, but only for a while.  The child’s meal served to the kids were excellent, way better than the adults’; in fact a little too much for little tummies to handle.

We only had about 2 hours before our next flight out from Hong Kong to San Francisco, and that precious time was cut short because there were some issues at the transfer counter (we stopped by to request for seats together on our US domestic flights, but wasted time there because the Hong Kong staff could not do anything about it), and also some delays at the security checkpoint.

Long story short, when we arrived at the airport lounge, we only had very little time to relax.  However, we still managed to take quick showers (very glad we did because it was invigorating, and we definitely needed that for the next long-haul flight).

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Bringing the “Piggy” to the Bank

November 13, 2012 in Ethan, Growing Up, Hannah, Milestones, Parenting | 1 comment

Yesterday morning, we squeezed in an important lesson of saving money.  Ethan and Hannah both have cute little “piggy banks” given by Ipoh Ah Ma in the shape of an elephant (for Ethan) and a cow (for Hannah), and they have been diligently saving their coins and asking friends and relatives for extra coins to add to their collection.

I thought it was high time I took them to the bank to save their moolah there, since I had been telling them about it for a long while.

Thankfully we only had to wait like 1 minute for our turn, and the kids eagerly handed over their piggy banks to to bank teller for counting.  They were delighted to see the coins being poured into a box and then to hear the coins being fed into the coin-counting machine.

We were done in a jiffy and I then returned the empty coin boxes back to them for future savings. 🙂  Definitely a great practical experience for them both! 😀

Here’s their voluntary “silly-face” pose before we left the bank:

A Record Quick Trip to KL and Back

November 12, 2012 in Ethan, Hannah, Vacation | No comments

Last week, we made a really quick getaway to KL on Wednesday afternoon and were back in Penang the following night.  We had an important and urgent “mission to accomplish” which was time-sensitive, and that was the only slot we could manage.  So it was a tiring trip, but still we managed to squeeze in many happy (and funny) moments.

This was the spectacular view from our room in Traders Hotel.  It was a pretty sight to behold, especially at night when we could see colorful fountains at KLCC too.

The hotel arranged for a complimentary sofa bed, complete with bed linens, pillows and blanket for Ethan, and he enjoyed his bed for the night!

 

I’m so proud of my babies! (well, actually they specifically told me not to call them “babies” anymore, but… :P) Our appointment was at 7:40a.m. and here we are, in the elevator on the way down for our buffet breakfast at the hotel, at 6:30a.m., I tell ya! 😀

Too bad we had to rush through breakfast though…the spread was seriously good!  I was especially impressed with a “gluten-free” section too.  Maybe next time then…

Safely buckled up in the taxicab.. 🙂

Hannah was the ever-willing model who would gladly pose for me while we were relaxing in the room later that day.

While Daddy worked in the room, we roamed the hotel, including the Sky Bar and Pool area.

All tired out, and resting in the lobby/reception area while Daddy checked us out of Traders.

…but not before a stop at the organizing mecca that is IKEA (even in the slight drizzle…and JAM!!)

A Morning at The Beach

November 11, 2012 in Entertainment, Ethan, Exercise, Hannah | No comments

Last Saturday, I’d planned an informal family photo session with a friend who had so kindly offered her time for us.  Unfortunately there was a last minute change of plans and the session was called off.

However, because we had already told the kids we were going to the beach that morning, Pete and I decided to go ahead with the plan anyway.  Mommy would have to be the photographer du jour then. 😛

Here are some photos of our day of fun in the sun!

Goldilocks and The Three Bears

October 30, 2012 in Growing Up, Hannah, Milestones, Parenting | 3 comments

I absolutely love it when Mommy tells me a bedtime story before I go to sleep.  My current favorite is Goldilocks and The Three Bears.  Although we don’t have a copy of that storybook at home, Mommy can tell the story even without reading from a book!  Amazing, right?

Anyway, I have been asking for this story on most nights now. My second favorite story is the The Three Little Pigs.

I love all the parts in the Goldilocks story and sometimes I add in my own sound effects too!  I always go to bed with a smile on my face after listening to that story.

Then just a few nights ago, Mommy said she was very tired and she instead asked ME to tell her a story!  So I chose my favorite story to tell, of course! 🙂

I changed it a bit though…I mean, Papa Bear can’t be cooking porridge all the time, right?  It would be waaaay too boring for the bears. So I told the story of him cooking noodles!! 🙂

Mommy had a good rest while listening to my story, and I enjoyed myself telling it too!

Kids and Pregnancy

October 20, 2012 in Ethan, Funny Moments, Growing Up, Hannah, Milestones, Parenting | 5 comments

Hannah: Mommy, Daddy is not pregnant, right?

Me: No, he is not.

Hannah: Only you are pregnant, right?  Daddy, Ethan and Hannah are NOT pregnant.

Me: That’s right.

Ethan (in his usual big brother “I know more than you” style): Hannah, only girls can get pregnant, NOT boys.

Hannah: Oh.

Ethan: And do you know why?

Hannah: No, Ethan. Why?

Ethan: Because…you know, a baby will come out from the tummy from the private.  And only girls’ private is big enough for the baby to come out from.  In boys, the hole in the private is too small!

Hannah: Oh.

Ethan: Hannah, do you know why you cannot get pregnant now?

Hannah (thinking): No, Ethan.  Why?

Ethan: Because….you are still a small girl, and not an adult.  Your private is too small and the baby cannot come out from there yet.  A baby can only come out from an adult’s private!

Ethan has been constantly reading my favorite book in conception and pregnancy by Dr Miriam Stoppard, and has been learning a whole lot of stuff about babies and pregnancy. 🙂

(N.B: By the way, my kids know the correct term for male and female genitalia: i.e. penis and vagina, although they also use the term “private” to refer to them interchangeably)

Artist at Work

October 18, 2012 in Growing Up, Hannah, Milestones, Parenting | 1 comment

I simply love watching Hannah coloring.  She’d seem so engrossed and focused, and the results are no less impressive too!  Well, maybe she takes after her Mommy (since I’ve won a few coloring contests when I was a little girl too…ahem! :)).

This was one of her masterpieces today.  She even took the trouble to choose a skin tone color for the skin!

Because I Love You SO Much!

October 14, 2012 in Ethan, Growing Up, Hannah, Parenting | No comments

Hannah made this card for Ethan all by herself, and when she was done, she proudly proclaimed, “Mommy, see?  I made this card with eight hearts for Ethan, because I LOVE him SOOOO much!”

Awww…..ain’t that sweet? 🙂

(If you notice, she also added some carrots and lettuce, Ethan’s favorite vegetable, to the card.  She wrote his name on the reverse side of the card.)

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