we woke today, with a hazy sky... visibility getting worse as the day progressed.... not the *best* day to be outdoors, but oh well! 3 puffs of ky's inhaler cleared my coughs and breathlessness :)

today was the day that the cubscouts wd use their own steam to get from lower pierce reservoir to amk park. they had to find their own way there with a map...avoiding the 2 main roads, and sticking together along e way. it was a lesson in patience for me... an *EXTREME* lesson.

it proved to be a similar experience for ky. (which i'd not counted on)  he's qt a good walker so he found the pace to be gratingly slow ;)  he had plenty spots of boredom along the way... so busied himself finding grasses,  bamboo, thorns, and berries to fill his pockets with.  it made me realise that he's qt a fit little boy, and cd qt easily do qt stiff hikes of a number of hours if him and i were alone.  (yes, his mommy too!...inspite of the extra love-handles ;))

so for us, the walk ended up being a qt short one, ie relative distance covered...but oh so long in covering that 'short' distance.   :b  yes, did i already say a lesson in *patience*? :-)

looking at e kids, many seemed hot and tired not long into it. and alas, not much road-sense amongst them! it made me realise how little they prob get out w/o e luxury of car/ bus /mrt.  cant be blamed i suppose... time is of the essence on this little island, so mums n dads hv to get places fast... no value in taking one's time, unless u start out a few hrs early... "what, in this heat?" i hear u say ;))  city-kids yes, but rather clueless on foot. :b ...ok, mb i'm being a little harsh.... they r still young and this is prob their 1st experience  :)  ... so there's hope yet!

on the upside, a purpose was served:

- e littlies, and biggies, had to push themselves physically beyond what any of them hv probably expereinced b4.

- and e 2 kiddy leaders had their 1st tastes of proper responsiblilty.... they had to plan the route/ AND make sure that they kept to it/ AND keep checking that nobody had got lost.

one chap in particular, took on that resposibility rather well, and actually stuck to it w/o distraction... *and* he showed great inprovement in map-reading & general orientation by the end of the journey ... *and* he behaved in a manner quite befitting a young man leading his troops to dinner :)    well done E... i can see that u tried very hard!   and well done to everyone for making it to the end!

so our next walk on the wild-side?...

bukit timah perhaps?  and i'll be soooo glad not to worry abt them getting knocked down by traffic along the way! :b

and ky?.... "kota kinabalu pls mama!" :) ....and he means it! 

-we passed by the same house on a certain corner, that we have passed by for the last 10-12yrs. it's been sold a number of times and now it's up for lease or sale again... oh i wish i wish i wish!!! :)

-we stayed in a suite with a dripping ceiling in one toilet, and an un-flushable loo in the other! 

-we discovered a serene and sunny little 'beer' garden at the end of the jetty. the karaoke lounges along the way were noisy and smoky, but the pleasant sightings of waterbirds, and the serene seaview, were worth the sojourn. and 'no', there was no beer in the beer-garden...it was closed!~ so bring yr own drinks and snacks in the day and go hv a quiet seat in the quiet open air.

-a creepy creeper-lined coridor (almost of storybook-character) ~and to be found somewhere off jonker street, led to an old blacksmith's home at the back...re-constructed to it's original condition. having housed a rather noble occupant prior, it had been restored and converted to a museum and quaint little teahouse...the owner whom was kind enough to leave what seemed-to-be her students, and their informal art-lesson~ willingly.  she briefed my children and i on the history of its owner, along with his interesting travels...marked on the wall in a stone map of sorts.

-along the same walk, we came upon a quiet courtyard that backed on to some shops~ the buildings stood large and majestic in their opulance of space...in contrast to some of the small shophouses we passed. yet their occupants were of humble professions: masseuse, hairdressers and the like.

'one could live as kings here," my hubby ventured...as we continued to explore their 'grand' courtyard.

-the artists' cafe was a gem on a side-road... simply, yet creatively adorned with paintings, beaded lampshades, interesting artefacts, and with an equally-interesting crowd!  the curry is not worth trying, the satay is tasty but pricey, the fried dimsum goes well with the sweet-sour sauce, and potato-wedges too! your best bet would be coming here for it's array of wonderful coffees... both the chilled and hot variety.  a selection of cheesecakes, brownies and caramel slices, are sure to provide a good pick-me-up between shopping and sightseeing~ and excellent to take back to the hotel as a midnite treat! :>

-the kids had a fab time swimming... and i was kept busy following them around the pool with the pretext of 'playing' with them. my dd has become way too mobile in the water...so i spent some time encouarging her to learn how to paddle. my valiant efforts proved to have some results. (all-be-it my pleasanlty-tanned arms ;))  my son was happy to finally put his old snorkelling set to good use. and now that he can swim, he proved to take to it very well... even going so far as to spot tiny ivory-coloured beads on the floor of the deep pool...then proceeding to dive and retrieve them for his dear sister... who plans to make herself a bracelet with them :) 

-while i watched the kids, caught up on my newspapers, swam and played putt-putt, dh did the obvious thing: he happily went shopping :> he came back with a present for each of us...and a few more for him!

-we saw way too many accidents on the way back... a car that had flipped and landed up upside-down in a ditch. another that reduced traffic to a crawl in one direction, and a complete standstill in the other, saw a collision between a bus, a truck and a few other vehicles. the truck had tipped it's load of sacks across 3 lanes and needed a crane to come in to right it. i'm just glad we werent stuck with 2 tired cranky kids in that lane! quiet prayers were said allround... and i noticed dh drive even more sensibly after that.

-at jb we stopped for dinner. ky took part in a 'surfing' competition. (one of these mechanical surfboards where u hv to stay on as long as possible.) he didnt beat the longest time...but he did stay on longer than quite a few adults :) and exactly the same amount of time as a 10-year-old girl...which pleased him even more!!! afterall, no guy wants to be beaten by a girl right! :))  and better yet: he got a giant goodie bag, with a very little pen and some other minor knick-knacks.. of course it was the pen that interested him most... and why? ~well, it's strange mechanism of course! :b

-our fish all survived. my plants thrived. our cat survived...without getting lost!... and our kind neighbour-lady saved all our newspapers... so we cd catch up on the latest H1N1 happenings as soon as we touched down!

-the power didnt trip while we were gone, so nothing in the fridge turned mouldy.

-i remembered to put bleach in the toilets b4 we left...so we didnt come home to a home full of mozzies and mosquito larvae.

-i cleaned the house b4 we left, so i came home to a pleasantly-empty sink, dry washing on the line, and crumb-free floors... but oh the dust that settles in just a few days of absence!

with the mexican flu maybe on its way, we decided to make the most of our long weekend... outdoors, (while we can!)... so we had a truly wonderful 3 days (well, 4 actually... seeing as kynan's teachers had something on on thurs :))

-so e kids and i went with friends to e zoo on thurs afternoon, and stayed til well past closing time... it was perfetcly serene!

-while i did some housechores one morning, i managed to convince dh to take ky cycling on the canal path... something which ky had been nagging me to do for days!... unbelievably, dh actually agreed to it! i cd tell ky was sooo happy! he almost raced out the door!

-another day we went to east coast to chill out with our lunch in the breeze. the kids and i found a 'shell graveyard'... which we were all qt happy to sift through...except for the clumps of black oil which were rather hard to avoid in some bits :(

-later the same day, west coast. park playground saw kynan practice his rollerblading... and kay attempting to climb some spiderwebs. (which ky was nimbly clambering over, under, and swinging between- and upside-down from...japanese kungfu-style!)

after taking some photo's, i relaxed and enjoyed a quiet picnic... while dh went for a walk. then we both joined the kids for a bit of playtime. :b

i raced kynan on the uneven balance-beam, and proved that i'm still not too old to beat him! ;) ha ha!!! then dh and ky (the 2 dizzy ones in the family!) proceeded to get themselves dizzier still, by swirling ard and ard on a spinning thing!

dh then tried to 'unsuccessfully' teach ky the 'right' way to climb two parallel vertical ropes. ky then 'successfully' taught himself to climb them the kids way, in all of 5 seconds... and he went straight to the top like a pro!  well done my boy! ...next time i want to see daddy do that!  and daddy was waiting to see me climb the web... mb next time dear... i ddint want to out-do yr valiant attempt :) not! daddy's toes were hurting ;)

-dinner saw the kids hopping and skipping through the empty expanse of the 'new' airport terminal. we went for a qwik dinner and walkabout. kay and dh also wanted to show us e 'black' hotel. it's kind-of a 'cave' theme... all dark floors and walls, and a feeling like yr walking through cavernous tunnels. considering the impending flu-virus, we're unlikely to go back there for qt a long time... and i have no inclination to fly anywhere on holiday anymore...

-our final stop yesterday, was harbourfront, vivo-city and sentosa.  we took e little train across... wondering aloud that it probably wasnt a wise choice afterall... as we looked ard at all the foreign visitors in e same cabin... china, france, mexico?

the kids had a ball on the beach though... ky, went straight to building a large sand-turtle, then, as usual, proceeded to dig his way to china. "i'm making a place for the turtle to swim, mum," he explained... "yes, and at night some romantic couple is going  to tumble in and break a leg or 2!" (...oh ya, i shd fill it in next time, rt mom," he remembered later on, while lying in his bed :))

dh went for a swim, and i lay back and people-watched. (it's funny how some people behave on the beach... one mum was so neurotic abt getting sand on her mat, that she pulled the kids here and there, then eventually banished them from it. )

at sunset we went across the bridge and e kids paddled in e shallows, and tried to bury each other in the sand.

then just before it got dark, we headed up the hill to e 'dragon stream'. ky was reticent at 1st, "too shy of the people watching mum", he explained later... but it didnt take long before they were both inside, splashing ard and lying down in the warm water. it provided a great photo opportunity. (not just for us, but for some passing tourists too! at which point ky got out, dissappeared, and re-appeared further up. :) 

we took the train back, and tired kay was just beginning to get cranky.... she cheered up though, when we suggested she finally get her photo taken for her card. and why exactly did that cheer her up? ...because we'd agreed that 'brownie bear', (a soft-toy she'd brought out with her that day, )...cd be in the picture~ and so he is! ....now kay *and* brown bear share their very own sentosa pass!...

-on sunday night, just b4 we slept, ky whispered to me what a WOOOONNNNDERRRRFULLLL time he'd had at the weekend... going to so many fun places outside, and doing so many fun things.

i know my dh is getting old. so he's not too keen to go outdoors anymore at weekends. he'd rather hang-out at shopping centres. we do that most weekedns now...but i'd been sharing how kay is missing out on all the fun things that we did as a family when ky was a baby. 

u c shopping centres are so *not* like the kids and i... yes the aircon's nice, but the outdoors feels so much more 'free' .

so now that ky's in school, i feel a bit sorry for him... cos he doesnt get to go out in the week anymore with kay and i... so unless we're outdoors at weekends, his life pretty-much starts to be lived only inside of 4 walls... and that's so NOT him....

so i'm soooo happy, that dh went out of his comfort-zone this weekend, to just spoil us all a little :)  ... taking us some of the places we've wanted to go...and for which we're all veeery grateful!  

tq darling!  yr not completely fuddy-duddy just yet!  :b

ky finally had his little b'day party at e wekend. it's likely to be his last one, so i didnt mind making it extra-special. (p1 now, so from now on it will be small affairs... movie-nite etc)

i told him he cd invite 10 friends this time (& of course that he neednt count siblings altho they were invited.). it was hard for him to choose as there were so many he wd hv liked to have come.   eventually though, he settled on 5 old mates and 5 new ones. ("i want half boys and half girls," he informed me.  so this made the choosing even more difficult!  he chose a pirate theme,  wrote out the invites and gave them to his mates at school. (one even went to "a sweet girl who sits behind me when we line up to come home. i dont know her name yet but i can find out. she's in p2."  :)

as the day drew nearer he got veeeery excited.

and the night before the big day, he just cdnt sleep... i found him lying awake close to midnite!   we'd learned that some of his mates cdnt make it because of extra classes, swimming lessons and the like.  and most of them were the girls...  so that put a dampener on it.

at one point he was afraid that no-one wd turn up at all!  (and it didnt help that kayla was the one to start joking about this, even b4 anyone had voiced their concerns. the smarty-pants has her head firmly screwed on when making such associations, but alas, she usually choses to share such thoughts at totally inappropriate times!).  ... but his fears were unfounded!  :b

the morning turned out sunny, and found our kids painting a very long 'happy birthday' banner outside in the corridor. the cat tried to help of course!. :)

i busied myself packing up all the goodies and trounding up dh to help get them to e car. he did a great job half-concealing his stress, and was a very capable porter, getting all our barang and the magnificent pirate ship cake to the location all in one piece and with no tantrums ensuing. ;) 

it was a slow start as most ppl were only to arrive after 4pm. but that gave us time to unpack at a leisurely pace, and shift undercover out of e way of impending drizzle. thankfully it quickly past, so the banner went out, the picnic rugs were spread, and the food promptly arranged.  because of the slow start, all games were set back an hour, but from then on it was all systems go...

the kids headed straight for the playgrd when they 1st arrived, quickly climbing, and digging, and spinning, and piling sand on the play equipment. it was good to hv the playgrd so close to the shelter, as they cd be let loose on their own. so they just kept coming back for snacks and drinks when tehy were totally parched n peckish. when it was times for games, one yell and they were quick to come running...

the biggest and smallest, happily lined up on the 'plank' to play 'pin the patch on e pirate'... they all did magnificently well too! (how is it that none of them missed? not even kay....was the blindfold 'fixed'? erm... i think i shd hv tried myself!!  their 'reward' was pieces of e 1st treasure map.  a capable mama or 2 whisked them farway to assemble it, while kay and i snuck ard trying to bury/hide 3 lots of treasure without being spotted by the little pirates! 

we shdnt hv worried though...they were all totally oblivious and absorbed... and the maps turned out to be secondary in their endeavours. once they had worked out the general direction, they raced there on-masse, each yelling orders from afar. the details, such as 'exact' location on e map, semed totally irrelevent.  so it was probably by pure coincidence  that they found them (oh, and perhaps helped by a little prompting from kay when they went off in totally  the wrong direction!) 

which brings me to e topic of our littlest one, who had hardly any attention at all in the previous days.  she'd been ill on and off. sore throat, cough, no appetite, mild fever, and general crankiness. it had been 4weeks already when i finally got her to the doc. e antibiotics didnt seem to clear it, so she was pretty much left to try and get rid of it on her own.... now i had been totally consumed with shopping for the party and preparing food, baking and decorating the cake, making e sweet pirate treats, printing tq cards, drawing maps, organising games materials, and of course preparing the special goodie bags.  so i had had little time to molly-coddle her... (this b'day party seemed very time-consuming!)

oh, and w/o ky's help this year (ie he was in school), preparing e goodie bags was left totally to me. what an enormous job! (esp as we had 4 colour-coded variations to assemble: older boys, older girls, younger boys, and younger girls.)  kay wasnt much help with the prep cos like i said, she was feeling kind-of cranky...

but on e day of e party she really surprised me. she showed great patience and understanding. when she was absolutely bursting to go to the loo, she waited for me 1st to set out some of e food, and then waited some more because i distractedly forgot about her request!...and then when i rememebered, i hurriedly arranged for a mum to hold the fort while i disappeared with her. 

after that, she stuck close to me for a while, but i think she realised i was too tied up to really give her any tlc...so off she went to the playground to join in with all the old and new faces.

she popped back a few times to come and ask me to give her a swing, but i was always tied up, so kindly asked her to wait until much later when everyone had eaten and were closer to going home. strangely, she toatlly accepted this and didnt even kick up a fuss. she'd merely dissappear and come back again an hour or so later to quietly ask again. finally, when all the games had been played, the cake had been cut, e mums had done their chatting, and we were just starting to pack up, then she appeared again... it was 7.30pm. dh had arrived and was hurrying me to get packed and be on our way... but i had promised her... so i excused myself for a while and gave e dear child the swing that she'd so patiently been waiting for... a very long 4-and-a-half hrs it must hv been! and she was sooooo happy to finally get her just desserts!

she wanted to stay up there forever, but it was v late...so with promises that we'd come again one school-day, i finally lead her away.

what a pleasant time it had been chatting with the other mums...making new acquaintances, renewing old, and just watching how our kids interracted with their special friends, both little and big. 

the day had been great! the weather had been perfect! the location so near, and ky had been over-the-moon.... 1: to have his friends come (even if not all, at least some),  2: to have some gifts to unwrap, and 3: to have what he thinks was "the best party and cake ever!"  truly, no parties can happen unless u hv special people to share them with. this i think, is the greatest thing he learned this birthday.... and a special tq to those who came but for a short while... that wd be a very difficult thing for any kid, but just seeing that they came made him feel so very special!

we finally piled into e car at ard 8.30pm. we realised the empty 'treasure chest' wasnt with us. (kay's toy-storage box. dh said to leave it as it was pitch dark everywhere, but i knew kay wd be upset. she surprisingly volunteered to come back with me and help me search for it. i thought it very sweet, and was grateful for the company in the darkness ;) though i didnt tell her such! :) we found it the same place that the pirates had abandoned it a few hrs earlier... then bade a final farewell to e last of our pals digging in e sand, and headed back.

once back, i ran e bath, fed e kids, unpacked and readied their rooms. dear kay complained that there was sand on the floor. she mentioned it a few tiimes but it was truly the last thing on my mind. so i explained that it probably came out of their clothes or shoes, and directed her to go and bath. she complained that she was too tired to undress, but harking back about the sand, added "it's ok, i'll get the vacume and clean it up."

it was then close to 10pm, an hr past her bedtime, and here was my little 4yr-old girl, exhausted from a long day out, been awake half the night coughing, too tired to undress, but now lugging the handy-vac around the entrance hall doing swift work of it, and then proceeding into the kitchen to clean up there too... no-one even asked her, and i totally wdnt hv expected it from anyone of us after the incredibly exhausting day we'd had! what's more, i honestly dont think even i wd have done it as a much older kid, let-alone a 4yr-old! all i can say is my hat's off to her! i think she'll make a super wife one day! :))

ky on the otherhand was happily unwrapping his presents, ooohing and aaahing with his daddy, and not in the least bit interested in anything besides extending his fun! :b  and when i took him to bed that night, he continued recounting all the wonderfu lthings they had done...

the best bit for ky?...."digging a really deep hole in the sand, until i hit hard ground, and then digging some more!" 

and kay's favourite bit?... "e swing!" :b

they are both so very sweet in such different ways!  how totally blessed my hubby and i are.  (and may we never forget it....)

our little holiday was lovely. we had fabulous weather...veeery hot with a slight breeze. short stay so mostly spent at the pool and nearby beach. (which was perfect for me!)

for e 1st time in almost 7yrs, i didnt constantly have a baby at the hip. finally both are 'grown up enough' to walk well without carrying and for me to leave them to play alone on the beach while i take a dip in the sea, or relax on a deck-chair. this was acttually the best bit for me! :b

the kids ran like they owned the beach. such free spirits!...something so sorely lacking back home.  they occupied themselves for hrs at a stretch.  kay drew pictures in the sand, while ky tried digging to china. ;)   he made deep pools and ball-runs, roping kay in to help him dig when he got too tired.  further down the beach they were fascinated by the little rockpools and all the marvellous creatures encapsulated there.  while on the opposite side, atop enormous boulders, they stood awestruck at the mighty ferocity of the waves as they crashed and battered little crabs clinging for dear life, a few metres away. 

-kynan loved e 2 swirly water-slides at the hotel pool. even my hubby tried, but e speed almost made him have a heart-attack!

-kay loved the dress-up area at the kids-world playhouse, situated just  behind the pool. she tried on all the princess gear, appreciated the outfits in the mirror, then sat down to build some lego creations...like a little princcess in her own castle bedroom!

-another activity which required steadiness of hand and great patience, was painting their own batik t-shirts. slightly pricey (ie e cost of a good t-shirt in s/p), but a rare novelty keepsake, so we let them be. they each took an hour carefully choosing colours and trying very hard to keep in the lines. now they wear their creations with pride. :)

-i never got around to having the massage i so badly wanted, but i felt relaxed anyhow, so didnt really miss it that much.  a surprise treat for me though was us all going together on elephant rides. i've been before and it was qt boring.  but this time was more scarey... the adrenaline-rush was going up and down almost vertical embankments to get into a river. it was truly terrifying and i feared we and the kids mt simply slip off, either backwards, or head-over-heals down the trunk!  fortunately none of that happened! and i allowed myself to relax and take in the calm of e jungle sounds as we peacefully waded through the river, up high and dry on the elephant's back... surprisingly enjoyable as there's no real sound from this giant beast, but for the swooshing of his tail gently through the water.

-we later did a short hike to a waterfall near a gibbon rescue-centre. it was interesting to see locals literally bathing themselves and their kids in the shallow pools. while we were paddling about in the freezing shallows, we watched with surprise as they took out their soaps and shampoos and got themselves all soapy in the jungle stream. they emerged squeaky-clean, but poor kynan wasnt as lucky.... half an hr later he started sprouting itchy raised bumps all over his body.  he suffered a lot with them for the next few days, and it was only some steroid cream back in s/p, along with some antihistamine, that finally got rid of most of them. the moral of the story? ...perhaps kp climbing as close as possible to the waterfall and take a dip there? ...or leave the eu-naturale ways to non-tropical climes?

-hubby was happy to hire a car and scoot down to the busier stretches searching out a bargain or two. thanks to him we each returned with at least one new goodie. (and more for me ;))

-a wonderful trip all-and-all. food was great! accomodation was clean and comforatble. facilities were fab!  hotel staff were wonderful! and not one of us got thai-tummy! ;)

-lasting memory: ...on our final night dh treated us to drinks/dessert at a posh beachside bar-restaurant. large fires were burning in the floors, candle-lights adorned the tables, palm trees swayed, and a beach wedding reception bubbled quietly in the background. out on a raised wooden deck we reclined in comfort as the darkness enveloped us. the kids were calm and self-occupied, marvelling at the intricacies of cane, and how tiny sticks cd be slotted just-so through it's interesting web.  while absorbing the moment, we chanced upon the sight of 2 large flame-lit paper lanterns being released into the nightsky...at first they burned brightly, then they grew softer and more distant, eventually diminishing to the size of their neighbouring stars. then they disappeared altogether, like they'd never even been there at all.  quite cathartic...

i can hardly believe it's 1st Dec tmw!

i took out our decorations tonite, ready for e kids to gleefully unpack tmw. yes, i'm fishing out the tree for them to 'doll up'. kayla told us today that our dear cat 'tiger' wd be the last decoration to go up on the tree.  yes, she's presently the humorous one!

humour left me for a minute today when a stunt-bike we were watching, skidded on a walkway just a metre or so beside us while doing a wheelie. the rider was thrown clear but the bike skidded on its side, throttle revving, thick tyres spinning and hitting concrete both sides. i had visions of the bike ricocheting off the side and mounting the verge where we stood. thankfully a bold female staff-member came forward and switched off the ignition b4 it chanced to happen. and what was kay doing in those few split seconds?... of course pushing her way forwards through a couple of onlookers, trying to get a closer look! and as i pulled her back on her wrist, so she strained like a little terrier at it's leash. and she just HAD to go and see the bike afterwards to get a closer look-feel at the damage. kynan on the otherhand was just itching to get on them all. thankfully the unscheduled demo showed exactly WHY bikes shdnt be messed around with! ....and where was dh all this time? oh, far on the otherside of a barricade, completely oblivious at where we'd ended up!

yesterday was another exciting day... ky had been building a tent in e entrance hall using his 2 long archer's arrows, some sticks, pegs, string and an old shower curatin. it was so fab and cosey that the cat kept going to sleep inside.  then when he stretched out, his paws wd knock over a cpl of e supports...leaving poor ky livid and trying to haul him out of there by his scruff, he sustained a nice scratch for his work, and i notice a few more rips in my curtain!  but he kept at it... leaving a cosy spot for the cat to snooze when we finally left the house... :)

later that morning we took a long drive to seremban scout camp to watch e sec school kids putting up some really tall wooden structures. it was really nice to just sit in the breeze and sip our drinks, then wonder ard to their cool camp set-ups. they had constructed little kitchens and living quarters using wooden poles and string, and some fabric for banners. a couple of them had even made little 'wardrobes' for their clean scout uniforms to hang inside. and the kids favourite was probably the one with 2 wooden swings constructed at the entrance. all i cd think was what fun ky wd have once he's that age :)

later that night, (thanks to Aunty S/M's info) we got to see a fireworks display at vivo. what a cool treat, esp considering the kids were already bathed and ready for bed. we had a late dinner under e stars, then headed back way past their bedtime.

now Christmas is almost upon us! 

this last week or so ky has been busily making hema-bead Christmas decorations. there are so many now that he's decided to sell them. but his favourites he says he will keep! and kay?... she's tried too, but loses steam after about 30-40min. (in that time she'll probably be only halfway through one, so quite understandable! ;b)

they know that Christmas is drawing near... before bed tonite they both wrote letters to 'father Christmas'.  (yes, a fun part of my childhood  which i wish to let be :))  kay's letter as dictated to me:

"dear Father Christmas, I have tried to be good, but I'm sorry that i was naughty.  Peez can you give me a little dark bown lion.  love Kayla "(+4 drawn kisses and 4 hearts, and a happy picture of kay beneath the sunshine, in a flower garden)

ky's letter written himself:

"Dear Father Christmas, May I have a scrufey puppy. I have been good sum of The time. could uoy bring me a present." (+4hearts and a flower garden drawn below the writing) _ i'll have to remind him to add his name before posting it tmw :)

and the rest of our hols?

e nativity stories start tmw. /we continue making Christmas cards. /we start putting together gifts for friends and family./ we mt go away for a few days./ mt try to make a trip to ice skate b4 the year is through./ hoping to fit in 1/ 2 more days camping b4 jan./  mb catch a cheap movie/ wd like to use up our free carousel rides at the zoo./ kay's been asking for a pony ride for almost a whole year, so mt give them both a treat one weekend when daddy is feeling generous. :) /buy ky's stationary, books, uniforms and p/e kit./ hopefully fit in an aptmnt w his asthma doc b4 school starts./  &get e intro to e birds and e bees out the way.... e rest of the time will pretty much be same-old-same-old....

but u know it feels like there's so much i want to do with ky before school comes around... i guess it's e same in other countries where kids start school 'late'.  just glad we've had e freedom up til now. 

last nite we chanced upon a sporty fair at e marina floating platform. the events were mostly over but we observed some international wake-boarders doing some stunts. and we passed by some nifty jet-boats standing on their trailers. they came from all over malaysia, and a friendy chap invited kay to come and hv her photo taken with them. :) alas no camera on us.....so no choice but to go back again!

we were told that e jet-boats wd be out from 11am-6pm but when we arrived only e wake-boarders were out in the bay. (ky was very dissapointed cos he really wanted to see them in action...but it wasnt to be.)  i think they finally came on ard 5pm after we left :(

whle dh watched e stunts,  e kids and i headed for e free rdes :)  we went on a speed-boat-trip around the bay, it was very sedate and peaceful as we went to e other side of e bay away from e wake-boarders. we watched a banana-boat topple it's row of riders just as we went back...and we spotted e heads of 3 divers doing work at e marina construction site alongside.

ky was very keen to go on a jet-ski.. (he's not been b4, but they had kiddy llfe-vests available, so i  wasnt too worried.)  as were were going to queue, kay informed me that she reeeeally wanted to go on e jet-ski too.

she new that i cdnt join her, but she said she wd sit behind kynan and hold on to him. when i informed her that they each had to go allone, she was still up for it.... nevermind that she cdnt swim, and that she'd be alone wth some strange bloke whizzing ard an expanse of really deep dark water far away from me!...  she wasnt swayed and insisted too that *she* wanted to go 1st!

wow! what a surprise....i  guess that prev race-car encounter gave her a bit more guts than i'd thought..

when she got back off e jet-ski, her face said it all!....she was grinning from ear-to-ear!.....like nothing cd wipe that smile away.. :)

kynie went next. "ok", he said, " ...but dissapointed they didnt go faster!'

"so did u ask them to?" i questooned....

"err no.." came his reply... :) 

as we were leaving, the kids stood alongside the jet-boats for some snaps. better yet..... e friendlly chap from e prev day allowed them to get rt inside the "cockpit" of one of them! :b  the kids sure were happy to hv their dream come true!

on e way to e car we stopped off for hotdogs and icecream. (yes very healthy, but that's all there was ;)) we sat watching the female wake-boarders doing their rounds. (one was a 15-yr-old world-champion)

as we walked off, kynan confided.... "mama, when i'm 10 or 11 or 12, i  wanna start wake-boarding".

to which kay added,  "and when i'm 5 i'm gonna start wake-boarding!"

i quickly corrected... "when yr 5, (or mb 6), you'll 1st be learning how to swim!!!" :b

chuckles all round... (except from e littlest!)

we drove to Malacca and spent 1 night there, at the Equatorial_ Club rooms.

as always, the hotel service was wonderful, the food delicious, and the afternoon cocktail tea was a feast.  we took a nice long walk down the river and had a meal at a promenade cafe. hubby met us later for a trishaw ride. thek ids went alone in one (which scared me to deah!) whiled h and i shared another. the kids were sooooo excited. after that we took a walk through the new mall to do some window--shopping. kay cdnt keep her hands off he merchandise... a real little lady...

that nite ky slept on his own bed, and kay slept in a cot. she only got out once or twice for milk... so dh and i had a superkingsize bed all to ourselves.... until about 2am that is... when kay spilled half a bottle of water on my side of the bed! she wisely snuggled next to bal as i mopped up the mess_ leaving me to sleep damp on the bottom half.

we took a long drive to Cameron Highlands e next day and stayed at Century Pines for 2 nights. the hotel was a bit dark on the higher levels, so i chose a brighter room with a groundfloor garden, looking out to the front (though the back ones had a lot of privacy and backed on to the jungle, so wd have been even nicer. i loved the morning birdsong very much indeed.)

the room was quite spacious, like Equatorial, but the wooden furniture and flooring showed some scratches (which didnt bother me, but it did the hubby) the kids liked the sliding-door access to the patio and garden.  and again we had a bed and cot for the kids, with kingsize bed for us. 

the hotel was very clean and free of mould and damp, which is what i was after... (some others in the same loacale are not up to the same standard in this respect).  none-the-less, the overall impression is nothing too fancy...more of a business/ conference hotel. however, we did see a lot of small malaysian families though. 

the location to me is it's best asset. just outside the main carpark is a large playground with a range of swings and climbing equipment. what makes it special, is that the paths have been lined with an array of beautiful flowering shrubs and trees. next to this park is a large grassy field, separated by a little stream. there are cute bridges going over the water at different spots, with little wodden seats for u to rest and enjoy the sound of the birds, and the lilting water.

if u follow this stream up past the side of the hotel, it goes up through the trees and comes out at a little waterfall. my 6yr-old cd mange the walk fine, though my 3-yr-old had to be carried some bits where the terrain grew too muddy or steep. (wear long pants and comfy walking shoes. and take water and camera.) we went across the rope bridge which took us a little up the mountain along some steps and over some winding tree-roots. this path comes out at a bridge going over the waterfall... or up ito the mountains for the more intrepid hikers.

just outside of the hotel driveway is a whole row of sundry shops, cafe's and coffee-shop-type eateries. it's far enough away from the hotel for the traffic not to be heard, yet within a 5-10minute walk. further up this road is an open-air market square, which we didnt have time to visit.

we went to a tea plantation and enjoyed some tea and scones at the cafe. (be warned, the cream was not real cream though. it was some white atificial tasteless froth.and the toilets at these stops are rather grim...so get kids to go at the hotel)  at this tea plantation the view was pleasant however, and the breeze rather brisk. (bring yr jackets). we took a little hike down the hill... passing some wonderfully-scented pines. the kids ran most of the way... only taking one or two tumbles!  at the bottom was a little stream, (sadly with rubbish on its banks) .... but it gave us a beautiful vista up into the green-tea-covered hills. the kids were delighted when dh held on to them so they cd get a feel of the icy clear water.  the hike back was good excercise for the adults, but challenging for the little one. the elder one played in the dirt while waiting for us to catch up :)

alas we were not too impressed by the fruit and veg plantations that we passed.  i think we were expecting something like the open fields of the English countryside... but unfortunately all the produce was hidden under ugly white plasic sheeting which was used to make their 'greenhouses'. it was a real eyesore against the hillsides... especally when it covered big swahes of the once-geen land. we didnt even stop. the litter strewn alongside the roads was also much of a turn-off. it was probably this overall dissapointment which led us to leave Cameron 1 day early. (if i came back to these hills i think it wd be only to hike the trails with the kids when they are older. we wdnt visit the fruit and veg farms.)

so off we headed to Sunway Lagoon, Pyramid Hotel, for a 2-nite stay. the room was smaller than th rest and faced a wall. it was also the most expensive. there was no separate bath/shower/toilet. it was all combined, so a bit of a drag if the toilet was occupied. pillows were terribly soft and they had no more to provide us with. not quite value-for-money. the breakfast however was the best we'd had yet on our whole holiday... a wondeful spread of noodles, curries, rice, prata, omelettes, chinese pow, and all the usual hot and cold western fair. i really feel like they catered well to n international palate.

we arrived on a tues and unfortunately the theme park was closed. so we relaxed and explored the shopping mall alongside. we also found time for a movie, Kung Fu Panda... which the kids and i thoroughly enjoyed! then dh treated Ky to a game of ten-pin-bowling. kay tried her hand at it too, but actually had to use 2 hands to get the ball rolling.  they both say its something they'd like to do again...  it cost all of $2.50 (including shoe-hire for kynan... very good value!)

the next day at 11am we were almost 1st-in-line for our tickets, and only left ard 6pm. unfortunately they're very strict aboutt not allowing food and drinks in... not even water...so that was a damper rt at the start. once inside though, it was pretty quiet and we had a fab time in the various pools. dh joined us and later went back to the hotel when we went off to explore the animal park/petting zoo. there the highlight was a little show where the kids got to hold a real live large albino python.... much to my worryy and delight (esp for little kay who chose to follow her big bro... and ended up holding the wriggling head!!!)

trying to buy lunch after was a nightmare...the kids were tired, seats were hard to find, and the serving staff terribly disorganised. (my food kept being given to other people... and for some reason, although i was in one of the queues, others were served ahead of me form the side... just shouting out their orders and thrusting their money forwards... locals perhaps? i actually raised my voice/shouted at staff for the 1st-time in my life. yes i was that exasperated!!! so totally not me!!!... but it finally got the point across)

before calling it a day, we headed up the hill towards the funpark and the kids went on some 'tame' rides. then we headed back across the long overhead bridge and had one last swim before closing time. none of us wanted to go back... it really was with heavy feet... and we all begged dh to let us stay another night. unfortunately finances did not allow...as this was the priciest stop of our journey. but we had plenty of happy memories and lots of photos to look back upon.

that night before leaving, we met with my sil who lives in kl, along with her 2 kids (same age as our 2). it was wonderful to see the kids together. in spite of the time and distance, they clicked immediately, like they'd never been aprt... and it was wonderful to see our 2 youngest girls relating to one-another in such a grown-up manner... holding hands and chit-chatting shyly as they walked along. aaaah! and kynan... of course chasing after the elder girl... happily shrieking and laughing as they went.

we all went to bed ard midnight and were wondering how on earth we'd be up in the morning to drive back to singapore... we felt msierable for it. kynan cdnt wake up, and kay had a rare meltdown... from our room + 30 minutes into breakfast. finally she settled and i was able to eat.  they both slept well in the car due to their late night beofre, so we made brisk time... stopping only twice along the way back to s'pore.

no-one wanted to go back home, so we went to the bishan-hotel instead... unpacked and 3 lots of laundry done in no time! now we nedd to recover :)

the best:

-a lovely big 8-man tent for the 4 of us.... put up by dh while ky looked on.

-a nice spot with long grass to pitch our tent...and a break inbetween the rain.

-dh stayed overnight with us_finally!!!

-he was pleased to inform me that e police-post was just a few metres away :)

-after pitching e tent, he went home for a shower and a rest :)

-he gave me an ear-splitting electronic whistle to be used in an emergency... jic we were attacked by a wild dog or some other wild creature. :) 

-we had time to explore the park, spotting 2 squirrels, a whiptail lizard, a cat, some wild parakeets, and plenty of minorbirds looking for worms. 

-e kids also found some nice low trees  to climb...ant-free to boot!

-some special discoveries were a cluster of canon-ball trees, with large scented flowers and spiky branches..all making for eye-catching photographic splendour. some pinetrees had their fronds withing easy reach for plucking their fragrant needeles... likewise for a eucalyptus. the pods were too high, but e menthol-scented leaves were within reach. for e 1st time, i also noticed it's bark...wonderfully light and papery... the kids were perplexed and took some samples back to the tent with them.

-kayla got her "camping puddles" (she'd prayed for rain, and it miraculously came...after weeks and weeks of dry sunny weather!)

-friends came over, so e kids had some playmates...7 altogether. (kynan was esp pleased abt this!)

-best memory: kids running in e rain, faces bursting with smiles and laughter. little feet tottering, & testing damp sand. bigger feet charging and splashing through grassy puddles. 

-kids' happiness is contagious: inspite of being soaked in e rain, i felt young and carefree all over again!.i actually enjoyed the crunching gritty sand squished between my toes,  then rinsing them in puddles, and feeling the cold prickly grass make way beneath my feet.

the worst:

-we only stayed 2days and 1 nite

-it was only halfway through the nite that i discovered dh had the most comfy spot in the tent! (while i'd been trying to curve my spine in S-shapes around a small anthill and a knobbly root, lying otherwise hidden in long grass.)

-we were so near the main beach walkway that the daylight-bright-bulbs of the lamps caused it to be daybreak inside our tent all night long  (thank you darling dh ;))

-the roar of fishing boat engines resounding near shore at night...scarily similar sound to jets being fired up for battle. 

-on and off through e nite, i heard the resounding boom and echo of large metal coffins falling from e sky...they must have bn abt the size of our bedroom. and occassionally they set off alarms that broke the dawn air with a sound so shrill they cd hv been announcing a prisonbreak! not a good spot for a peaceful night, considering how near the shipyard is!

-discovering after a midday thunderstorm that our comfy new tent leaks....badly!

the future:

-we want to go camping again...but i'd prefer longer.

-never again at west coast park... too noisy at night!

-mb pasir ris, which is where the kids and i still enjoy. (nice n shady in e day, n peaceful at nite)

-we need to find a tent that doesn't leak (2 purchases returned and still no success)

-dh says taman negara mt be nice...mb before he retires :)

today my kids played their 1st-ever April-fool's jokes on me... set up by hubby no less!

they popped over to granny's for an hr while i did some chores, then sneaked back in, quietly.  when they saw me, they doubled over, one clutching her back, the other- his tummy...

"ooh, i've got a big cut on my back/ _tummy!" they cried in unison.  i wasn't fooled though... but thought they were hiding some goodies under there :) as i approched, they both called out: "April Fool!", happily grinning from ear-to-ear.

very sweet, and i'd not even realised the date :(  so i'd lost my chance to fool all of them!

next year!!!

it's become a family tradition for us to celebrate Easter Sunday at our place, with the aunties, uncles and cousins coming over for an Easter egg hunt & tea-party in the afternoon.

this year was no different...*but* i decided to invite the littlies from kay's playgroup along as well, and their older siblings too (who r ky's friends too). so total we had 11 kids and 12 adults. hard to believe there were so many in our ouse, but somehow it didnt seem crowded. e kids started with basket-making when they arrived, using signs of e cross, eggs, hearts, flowers and other spring motifs. they tied them together with ribbons and put some shredded paper inside. (it stopped e eggs falling out laterr ;)) then they dug into e goodies while waiting for their buddies to finish. (the best surprise were some wonderful jelly-coconut cream eggs and number-shapes which Aunty Sh had made...)

when the hunt was abt to begin, they all got in an excitable little line from smallest to biggest... then wasted no time in ransacking e kids 2 bedrooms for their Easter treats. :)  i'd hidden them well, so it took some a while... and it also gave them time to share their finds so that everyone had an equal number. little M was the 1st to munch his down...even while the others were still counting :) when i asked to see how many he had, he pointed to his mouth and tummy... "in there!" :b

after that the kids played in little clusters and pairs, while e adults had some time to chit-chat. as they went off in dribs and drabs, little goody-bags were filled, and thankfully e treats on e table were reduced to a reasonable amount.

by ard 7+pm, e older cousins went off, and we escorted our kids out the door to vivocity for dinner. both were almost falling asleep in the car, and neither wanted to go out at all!... but dh and i were in the mood, so they had no choice! ;)  they brightened up once we got there, and continued playing when they got home. before bed there were plenty of happy stories to share about the day's happenings.

highlights of e day:

-ky was pleased i got his curtains finished on time, so he cd show off his 'new room' to his cousins.

-the memory of kay coming out of her room with 16 eggs in her basket...(even before the hunt had begun!)  "sorry i didnt know", she lamented sadly... as ky and his mate took them back :(

-kay has decided she *really* likes her 2 older cousins, M&K ..."because they played so nicely with me."

-a clean house tonite. no real mess... v few dishes... (thank goodness for disposable cups and plates!)

-a tidy house!  were it not for e party, it wd be such a sight!...so i finally had reason enough to clear-up! :)

-4 little prawns in our fishtank (kindly donated by A&A's papa. _not sure whether we like the bigger one yet...though the little ones are cute!)

-a blessed and happy gathering...

last nite was a rough night for us. no-one got much sleep, esp dh. but this morning i really wanted to go to church. so i got e kids up and let dh continue sleeping. then we quietly snuck out so as not to wake him.

our day got better and better:

-it was communion Sunday, which i ike as it's a longer service :) and there were some beautiful songs and hymns.

-kay and ky were happy too, as Aunty G was there with J & C, whom they've not seen in ages!

-then dh met us after church and we went on to botanic grdns coffee-shop for lunch. J&C and  their mummy and daddy joined us, then we all followed e stream outside, stepping on rocks alongside as we went, (with Kay and C throwing in leaf and flower "boats" along the way.) it was so nice to have e daddies there too, helping e kids cross e bigger gaps between e rocks, and all enjoying their visible excitement. then we all went for a walk ard swan lake, looking out for turtles and fish, and throwing in pebbles and seeds and sticks along e way. later, Kay had just about enough energy to race back with ky and J, and C hurriedly climbed down from his dad's arms to join them all. :) it was very sweet to watch...and they certainly had a lot more energy than us parents! :)

-it was a hot day, but we were in pleasant company, so it was an enjoyable time.  after saying our farewells, dh kindly took us to a nearby mall for an icecream treat. :) we were all in very high spirits after that!

-finally we headed off home. i thought kay wd nap, but she had other plans. she nevr even got as far as e room. (in fact her and ky never even got to remove their shoes!)  ky was trying to chop up a large seed he'd found outside, so she decided to join him. half an hr later i observed him crushing pine needles beneath his rock, "making pine juice" he commented. kay was collecting e pine needle fronds from e potplants where they'd arranged them earlier. as they were so deeply involved, i provided them a little more "eqquipment"....a brick, a mortar and pestle, some dried flowers, fresh flowers, a couple of jelly bowls, spoons and a cup of water. then i left them to it! :)  later on, i noticed that J, our little neighbour, had joined in. it was turning into quite a cookery party, so i passed her some streamers from a party-popper, a few small plates and frying pans. then she came back for a cup of water for herself. they were very sweet, and i realised just now that i never took any photos :(

-dh was itching to go out again... so after an hour or more, e kids packed their bike, skate-scooter and safety-gear, while i grabbed e waterbottles and some sandwiches. even dh fished out his rollerblades! :)   then off we headed for west-coast park. we happily discovered that all the hoardings have bn taken down. they'd obstructed the sea-view for ard 3years! and what do they have to show for it? all we spotted was a new road, and mb a breakwater (or was that there before? ;)) it was pleasant strolling along as e sun set.  some families had pitched tents, while others sat picnic-ing and chatting as they stared out to sea.  our kids raced on ahead. the breeze blew, kites flew high above, and a line of fishermen stood patiently waiting for a catch.  all seemed so right with the world...

-we drove home, pleasantly mellow...e kids contentedly munching on left-overs. bathtime went without a hitch. (which is always good news for any mummy or daddy! :))

-as dh ate dinner i hurriedly changed e kids bedding and sleeping positions... digging to e bottom of e closet for a set of pierot clown bedlinens for kay. these were e same ones i used as a teen in s/africa, and then still while dating dh in e uk. they hv such sentimental value, and one wd hardly believe they're around 20yrs old! (dh looked and said "2" when i asked him to guess ...then he recognised e motif.)  ky likes them very much too! he was just complementing kay on her "nice blankie". :)

i'm sure my mum wd never hv guessed that her pricey investment back then, wd still be seeing so many good days in e future!  thanks mum!   u provided a warm and beautiful end to our beautiful Sunday...

and what a lovely one it's been!

our tree went up before our krabi-trip.  the kids did a wonderful job decorating it... all covered in baubles, blue and silver tinsel, and a hand-made angel having pride of place on top. bits of tinsel and holly gave the rest of the place a festive cheer.

our Christmas dinner this year was had on Chritmas Eve. (so mam cd rest and enjoy festivities on Christmas Day itself ;)) the good thing about this set-up is that i delegated dh and the kids to help me peel and chop vegetables, while i got the turkey all cleaned, preened, and buttered-up. (yes, our 1st-year having turkey!)  i found a 4kg frozen monstrocity that we carted home in kay's stroller. the recipe was a fab fail-proof one off the net...lots of olive oil, butter, garlic powder and herbs. it turned out wonderfully moist and flavoursome, just as was promised. gravy was hardly a necessity, though it ame in handy as a casserole sauce the day after.  i made a celery, onion, mushroom, and carrot stuffing that was a welcome change from the usual bread-stuffing.  and it all came together really nicely with the little roasties thrown in. we all ate so much we didnt have space for dessert!   so with candles still flickering, we finished off the bubbyl grape juice and set about preparing for bed.  Kiddies Christian songs were playing and Christmas lights flashing.... we re-arranged the nativity, set down cookies and bandung beneath the tree, and moved Christmas stockings to the floor. then off to bed with the Chrisams Story, thanks and prayers.

Christmas Day itself was quiet. we opened gifts and went out for a late breakfast. then on to deliver gifts to neighbours and family. i also received a surprise call from my sister in s/africa, (and probably chatted for way too long.) as we fell asleep that night, e kids and i discussed what we cd give away as Boxing Day presents to strangers, friends, and neighbours. the excitement of the last two days caused the kids to fall asleep lickity-split. :)

our trip was entertaining...

here's a qwikkie on our flights/ accom etc, esp for those w kids who may consider going there...

flying:

-we flew with a budget airline booked via internet. it was cheap. we paid an extra $5 per person to pre-select our seats. check-in going there was a breeze. we were the 1st when e counter opened couple hrs b4. no queue. returning, there was a very long queue. desk didnt open til qt late. dh lined up while i t did toilet breaks and sat with hand luggage on e opp side of e terminal. the flights were short. the kids were happy reading magazines.

kay happily chewed on sweets and crisps during landings and take-offs, so no ear trouble. as we descended on e way back, she nursed and fell asleep. ky had headaches all the way from the air pressure and cdnt eat because of it. on e way back he slept most of e way. woke up after we landed with a terrible throbbing headache, bad enough for him to be unable to walk straight, and ended up collapsing on e floor pounding his head with his fists. thoughts of embolism went through my mind. but we prayed. no wheelchairs at e budget terminal, so i ended up carrying his 20kg hulk, while dh settled the hand-luggage. thankfully it passed, but next time i will wake him well before we even start the descent, so hopefully he wont hv such air pressure problems again.

hotels: both were booked online via Asia Rooms.

hotel 1:

Krabi Thai Village Resort. this place was great! lots of space. long corridors for running/ short stairs for climbing/ plenty grass for kicking ball...good excercise.

location: on a small road, slightly uphill from e main stretch of shops and restaurants. an easy walk for the kids in e early evening down to e main stretch. it was cool and quiet. just be careful to keep in single-file well against the curbside and clear of oncoming vehicles which may be speeding.  or take a tuk-tuk there instead. likewise for the return trip. they r cheap and easily available outside e hotel, and parked all along the main stretch. bargain prices down a bit, esp for families.  opposite e resort are a few restaurants. 1 has a beautiful fishpond alongside which is nice for e kids to enjoy, as it has a walkway over e top.  (take mossie repellant at nite) others offer thai, seafood, and an asstmt of western type dishes. on e way to e main stretch is a nice eatery called La Casa. it serves good thin-crust wood-oven fired pizzas and indian curries. it's got a very nice vibe about it. the staff are friendly and it's open for lunch and dinner. if i remember rt, i think they also do pasta. there's another branch of La Casa on the main stretch and it's always packed. i'd rather save the walk and go this one as it's peaceful and airy (read: no smokers!) there's also a graden cafe down a staircase which i never tried, but dh and the kids did. it looks nice for e kids to explore while parents take time over their meals. for drinks and snacks, sunblock, milk etc, there's a small mini-mart just alongside.

reception:

check-in was prompt and friendly. welcome drinks and chilled face towels perked us all up. plenty of staff on hand to carry our luggage. reading books available for loan (adult english and other languages) outing desk was manned almost all hours. bar/ lounge had live singing but was always deserted (prob due to the prices). but we'd wonder down in the evenings after bathtime for popcorn (on sale at e bar) and wd sit on e sofas at reception and let e kids have a bit of a run-ard before bed, while i had some reading-time :) toilets behind reception were always empty and spotless. 

room:

standard delux room, 2nd level. we requested a room far away from e lobby, and not on e ground level. 2queensize beds which we pushed together. kay slept between us. ky slept on a little daybed alongside. we asked for a cot (foc) and used that to store their fun-stuff. the mattress we took out and used to sit on for floor-play/ balcony picnic etc. used the cot sheets/pillows for kynan.  just paid extra for his breakfast as it wasnt included.  nice big room cd still move about easily with all of us. only shower no bath, but we were told we were upgraded to a larger room on e quieter side so we didnt mind.  aircon and fan. both worked well. on aircon fan setting 3 though, a pungent sewer smell crept through the vent, so had to kp reminding dh not to turn it on high when he came back. temp control cd be adjusted to north pole climes so we didnt mind a less blowy fan. the ceiling fan was good when e air was stale. so we cd switch off e aircon, open e doors, and let some  fresh air move through. fridge was slightly drippy inside, so we had to be careful where we placed our drinks or chilled foods.

other nice touches: the traditional wooden decor throughout, and matching colour-scheme, even down to the towels. enough towels were provided w/o us having to ask for them each time. staff were prompt and couteous *always*. 

hotel food:

breakfast was a good selection of everything u cd imagine. noodles and rice with curries and chicken in sauces. usual western stuff like sausages, ham and bacon. egg station for fresh omelettes. good selection of breads and pastries, fresh fruits, fresh cheese and salad ingredients, milk, yoghurt and cereals, including healthier stuff like muesli.

room service was very quick. food was hot considering the long walk. it was quite palatable and well presented with garnish. portions sufficient. our 2 young kids cd easily share 1 serving w/o wastage nor shortfall.

restaurant: we never tried this, but the tables were well-presented each night with fresh linens and canddle-lit. the place was quiet at night (prob because of e selection of cheap foods outside but a stone's throw away.) one night however saw full-house. it was a special weekly thai spread. it came with entertainment. when we passed we saw a beautiful graceful thai dancer on stage, with 3 more immaculately dressed young ladies waiting in the wings, and another group in impressive costume waiting beyond view outside. i dont rrecall the price, but it mt hv bn nice to splash out at least once on something like this...

facilities:

aircon gym which bal used, overlooking the kids' playgrd and garden.  lush garden, spacious green lawns with shrubbery shielding balconies for privacy. quiet young rubber plantations on 2sides provide natural ambience, +butterflies, birds, singing cicadas.  one night we returned to find a gecko the size of a baby crocodile on the wall beside our door. no joke!!! it was at least 6-8cm longer than my palm!!! were it not for the suction pads on it's fingers and toes, i really wd hv thought t was a bb crocodile! it freaked kayla out a little... and thankfully never returned while we were in the vicinity. (some bugs it must hv caught!!!... i'm just glad i never met it's mama!)

3 swimming pools of different depths, and swim-up pool snack-bar. (the bar-pool is what we used the most. it had shallow stair access from 2 sides).  there was also a small kids' slide into the toddler pool. (unfortunately, i wd never advise anyone to use this particular pool after what happened during our stay... over a few days we noticed a powerful vortex in e centre of e pool, originating from a large square suction outlet on the floor of e pool. it was a large-based vortex which cd easily hv fitted a kid up to 10or more years of age/ not-to-mention a tot!) it seemed to start up on occassions when the waterfall and fountain features were switched on at the pool behind, but not every time... so very unpredicatble. after knowing the story of e expat who drowned in a s'pore hotel spa-pool when similar suction vent cracked, it was very worrying. in that case too, the suction was much stronger than it shd hv bn... i doubt that management were even informed of e issue when we were there. the staff seemed amused if anything, and just disappeared into the switch room for a while to fix the problem on the 1st occassion. once was enuff... thereafter my kids were banned!

hotel 2: Vogue Hotel and Spa

location: on the opp side of the main stretch, just as it rounds e bend, and slightly up a hill. wonderful spot. looks busy/ noisy outside, but once inside, none of the road sounds can be heard.  an easy walk to e main stretch. western fastfood joints are v near (McD/ Starbucks etc) with more building work going on. pavements r on both sides of e road and are stroller friendly. (so for us, no need to take tuk-tuk). hair-braiding places nearby, and also places selling nice sports clothing for ladies and guys of all sizes. good selection of restaurants, (but watch out for e creamy sauces, table cheeses and mayo)

this is a small boutique-type hotel. it's beautifully nestled on a hillside, with stairs weaving secret pahways through a lush garden environment.  it' looks back onto the side of a beautiful wild hill. early morning mists, natural sounds and interesting large bugs and beetles add to the exotic feeling of being away from home. much to his distress, dh found a beautiful brown horned climbing tree frog on the keyhole one night when he came back :)) also loads of butterflies, dragonflies and birds.  to the front of the hotel, one can see a massive stone cliff. on our last night there, we were surprised by beautiful booming fireworks coming from a private beach estate on the other side. it was a wonderful treat for ky who was still awake!

reception:

check-in was brisk. we were directed to seating to complete the form. fruit drink and cold towels provided. an internet room opposite reception. (buy an acces card for 1hr minimum. qt cheap. sofas for e kids to read or colour while mum's checking mail)

room:

we got free upgrade to e honeymoon suite. came with a cornerbath ready-filled with rose-petals floating, and flower-petal-heart on the bed. fruit basket included. nice kingsize 4-poster-bed with tie-back sheer curtains which the kids loved. (princess bed :) not much room to move otherwise. payed extra for a mattress for ky on e floor. planned for kay to share our bed, but too squeezy. so got e cot mattress foc, ordered an extra blanket, opened it out large over e mattress, and added a sheet. they also brought a small kiddy quilt and pillow with brown bear, which kayla liked. very nice large balcony overlooking e pool area. obscured from below by palm and coconut trees, so pleasantly private. 2 large wooden seating areas for unwinding or sun-bathing. 

other nice touches: the bathtub has a window through to the room, so u can see e kids while they bath and vice vers. blinds can be closed for privacy when in the toilet.  lit candle burning in the bathroom when we arrived. bath gels smelled wonderfully floral, (bonus of e spa), hairdryer in the room. fridge in good working order.

downside: no coffee-making facilities. poor reading lighting inside. a little too dark even to sort through luggage properly at night.

breakfast:

food is nothing to shout about. (prev place was much much better). eg noodles slightly dry, sauces tasteless, juices not very pleasant. limited spread overall. egg station outside though we never tried it. what's nice is that u can take yr breakfast in a little secluded garden up a few steps from e breakfast hall. it's in e open air, u hear e squawk of parrots, feel a breeze, watch the lanterns above u swing in the breeze. kids loved it. staff not very pro-active, so just go get a tray or 2 from them, and then pass them what u want to be carried out. they fetched us a baby-chair too which pleased kay. (just dodnt sit too near e breakfast hall-side of e garden, as there's a thin strip below that's allocated to smokers, and their cancer-fumes waft up if u dont get a table further away.

room service: we never ordered room service here. the menu was very very limited and nothing appealed.

facilities:

full spa. pricey but looks nice. i ran out of time to try it, though i really wanted to. (dh tried outside, cheaper, but they were so hard they injured his shoulder.)

1 warm shallow toddler pool, and 1 other deep pool with 2 ladder-type steps and 4 squirting elephant statues (which my kids loved!!!).  bring floats for e kids.

small gym overlooking e pool (imm beneath our room in fact). bring sports shoes and proper sports gear. it was quiet mostly.

we only spotted 1 or 2 other kids while we were there. the rest were group singles, and both younger and older couples.  with it being a small place, we found people to be a lot more friendly towards us and the kids. (at e other resort, there were mostly groups of larger families from Sweden, Germany, and they kept to themselves. their kids didnt mix with ours, and were not interested in playing together, even though ky volunteered)  this place is suitable for kids although it mt not look that way at 1st glance. 

on the downside: service is sub-standard in some respects. e baby-cot linens and mattress which we asked for in the morning, was still not there when we returned at night. likewise for e additional towels. (this was after asking 3 times, and having bn promised each time)  communication was poor. most staff dont seem to understand us at all.  even something simple like requesting a face towel. and when we asked very clearly for 2 more pillows, only 1 was sent. this happened on 2 separate occassions.

this is a beautiful place with so much potential. if only the staff were better trained, and more active in fore-seeing the needs of their customers, then it wd be worth coming back to. until e staff and food side improve, i think we wd again only return for no more than 3 nights/ or try somewhere different.

eateries outside:

be careful!

1) glass in the food:  we visited a reputable restaurant opposite our 1st resort: (Carnivore). the icecream that we ordered was served in a tall glass. almos all e way through it, i tried it out and realised that the crunchiness the kids had bn talking about was in-fact glass shards and not ice crystals as i'd thought. we all had received cuts on the insides of our mouths, and had sharp fragments chewed up, crushed and protruding from e cracks of our molars. e restaurant manger commented that they served such daily and no-one had ever complained before. this was *after* her staff had shown me that the side of the glass was badly chipped and had probably been raining glass shavings over e icecream each time the spoon touched against e edge. so much for candle-light...we didnt even see. to rub salt into e wound, they never brought a replacement nor apologised...so kay was left waiting for e rest of her icecream 20minutes later. finally when i mentioned this, they brought me one more scoop (for which they later charged us!!!) 

2) food poisoning:

a) i got really really bad food poisoning from chicken in white wine sauce.  up with vomiting and drh all nite, every 40min-1hr.  cdnt even kp down sips of water. nxt day cdnt even get out of bed. whole body aches, massive headache, chills and hot flushes. only meds cd help. a week later still sensitive to food.

b) parmesan cheese in table-shakers: kayla was ill in a similar manner to myself. vomiting only, but hrly all through the nite. not even bre*stmilk cd stay down. poor thing was even puking up all over herself in her sleep. after 3 changes of clothes left her half-naked wrapped in a towel. an eventful night. it promptly stopped in e morning in time for b/fast of dry bread and water. she didnt need any meds, just breastmilk eventually seemed to do e trick.

c) carbonara sauce: ky kept it down overnight, but was violently ill e next day. both drh and vmtg whole day from early til night. lost count of how many bin bags he filled! but then at least he cd get there in time...so i was spared changing bedding and clothes. we had meds for him but he cdnt keep i down. after a few attempts he eventually refused because of his terrible stomach cramps. poor kid... at one sage he was writhing on the floor in agony, and there was nothing i cd do for the pain except pick him up and cradle him as i prayed and held him. the same happened when he started hitting his head with his fists to try and stop a pounding headache. it was only after 12hrs of such, threatening hospital and drip, that he finally succumbed to keep trying the meds until they stayed down.

d) mayonnaise: dh had a wonderful sandwich on the last day, filled with all sorts of delicious goodies. i had one too, the only difference, which i lamented at the ime, was that mine was missing the garlic-mayo... thank goodness for small mercies though, or i wd have suffered all over again... as poor dh woke up the next morning suffering e same stomach cramps, fever and drh. and he was just as bad at taking his meds as kynan was! :)

so nxt time we'll definatey be eating very simply. plain rice. pasta in tomato-based sauces, pizza, indian breads, and icecreams seem not to be reccomended.

pharmacies:

there r a few and the one we visited was good. the lady pharmacist was sweet, listened well, and prescribed w/o hesitation, giving good instructions and advise in case things did not improve. she cd prescribe a short course of oral antibiotics for kay's ear infection, and something to clear the sinus tubes to help ease e pain, which is something i'd not thought of.   they also have the necc meds for drh and vomiting in kids. (but not e anti-vomiting pessary for bbs and tots/ or for if older kids cant kp e meds down.) though another pharmacist told dh he cd give ky a jab for it if things didnt improve...  i wd hv bn reticent to let my kid experience needles in thailand though, so am glad it didnt come to that or drips)  although my kids never hv tummy upsets, nxt time will certainly bring my own meds for such eventualities, esp e anti-vomiting pessary.

so did we have a good time?

you bet!!!

and wd we go back again?

for sure!!!... must-see/ must-do highlights will follow in e next posting....

ky is signed up for a cycle and run-a-thon at bishan park on e 15th. 

we wd hv just got back ard 1/2am that morning, and registration is 7-8am. i have absolutely noooooo idea how we're going to make it...nor how he's going to hv the energy.... buuuuut he *insists* he wants to do it.

and as this is e 1st one of it's kind, i really dont want to dissapoint him... so i think it's going to be me dragging myself aaaaand everyone else out of bed that morning!  :( 

it's that time of year and we've hardly any time to get around the free musical shows at the malls.

-we've made it to Dora, Island Princess, and Winx Club.

kay loved Dora best.

ky loved Winx Club (prob cos he was invited up on stage & won a prize_ tradg-card album and a comic)

both of them liked Island Princess. (this was mama's fav, esp the singing by the handsome prince ;))

-we've missed Barney and Elmo, and we mistakenly turned up for Mickey Mouse Funhouse at MP_it turned out to be for photo-taking only. a big waste of a stage imo!) 

-both r hoping there'll still be some shows on when we get back from Krabi. (i'm not holding my breath.)

we've just come through a 4-day wedding celebration. there was lots of work going on behind the scenes. add to that some early mornings, full-day events, and late nights, and it makes for a very tiring affair.

with dh being away i had to juggle the kids alone. a rather tireless task, which thankfully i'd not bn totally prepared for (or i wd hv chickened out i think!  :))  the kids hardly had any constructive time with me for the last few days, as i was totally occupied with preparations, and participaing in the ceremony itself.

at the end of it all, the thing that struck me most, was the joy and beauty of spontaneous indian dance.  it was at the dinner on the last night, as i sat with kayla on my knee, watching the young unwed cousins, and the slightly older wed sisters-in-law, twirling and clapping in a sparkling array of colour, that i saw true unfetted joy shining through. and for the 1st time in my life i actually wanted to join them.

were it not for the absence of my hubby, i wd have participated in the same invigorating joy of the moment.  but for that fleeting time, it had to be enough for me simply to observe the rest.

i tapped my feet to the beat, and watched with bated breath as kynan, for the 1st-time, took to the stage with the other little ones... he let go of his inhibitions completely, and boogied the night away, beaming the widest of grins as he performed all his favourite moves.  it was such a joy to see... my little boy finally free!

well i typed a nice long newsy post a few days back but it somehow dissappeared? woo hooo...

are there gremlins in the works?

so here's another version:

-we went on a tour of a big 3-mast ship: the "Rainbow Warrior", owned and operated by Greenpeace. it was an early morning, a really hot day, a wonderful trip, a great get-together of familiar and not-so-familiar faces. a great opportunity to expose the kids to a whole new world!

-playgroup/ swim at yck after was absolutely appreciated! the water was cool and the kids frolicked to their hearts' content! afterwards, the craft activity upstairs was a pleasant surprise!

-deepavali 1: a long lunch at great-grandma's with all the extended family.  an incredible spread of vegetarian food and cakes, yet the kids were content with plain rice...

-deepavali 2: a pleasanat dinner at dadima's. a smaller gathering, with the kids playing non-stop, then amusing us all by singing nonsense at the table.  the highlight of the evening was an array of candles on the dining table, on the balcony, and outside the front door.

-deepavali 3: kids and i went home and took out all our candles and lit up our living room. candles danced on the dining table and from candelabras on the walls. we switched off all the lights in the house.  the kids pulled up chairs and sat side-by-side in the dark, quietly staring into the flickering candle-light. it was mesmerising.

-international night at our church- St Georges: what a fab time! an exotic plethora of cuisine from all over the world. we also had live country and western music, some jazz, japanese songs, and piano classics to entertain us while we ate. the courtyard was really buzzing. i chatted in afrikaans and engish with a dutch family who hv just recently come over. their young daughter opposite cd not yet speak english, so she was amazed that i cd actually understand her... and even reply :)

food was plentiful. it was a bring-and-share arrangement... i'd brought along some koeksisters, biltong, and murrukku, for the south african and indian stalls. kay cdnt stop eating biltong, while ky was happy with a breadroll, pasta and some of that chinese stripey jelly. kay was qt outgoing and willing to try e south african sausage, jelly, pasta, heaps of biltong, and many other things which she wanted to try, but i knew she wdnt hv space for! desserts were overwhelming. i settled on tiramisu, peppermint, caramel  and banana pie,  milktart, pumpkin pie, and some spongecake with maple syrup which i thought the kids wd like. they didnt. they were full. only had spacee for icecream... almost.

when it was dark, we went outside to watch the bamboo-stick/ and country-and-western dancing. afterwhich we made some paper-decorated blown eggs. we hurriedly rushed off for a taxi when i noticed the time drawing well past 8pm. along with us, a crushed egg. a wholemeal cookie, and some wonderful south african bobotie kindly packed up by the minister for the seafarers mission... an old south african from howick, near where i was born and raised...(dh had arrived home weary and hungry, back from a challenging school retreat at ubin.)

-bath farewell; tonight we shifted the candles to the bathroom, and ran a deep, warm bubblebath. then out came the chocolates, marshmallows, lemon-tea, apple juice and ribena (everyone had his or her own preference ;))  the kids got in 1st, and savoured their treats, while i captured their farewell messages on video.  we reminisced about all the fun things we'd done in the bath, snapped a few photo's in the candle-light, then i joined them. we had a giggly last nurse while the two of them held hands behind my back and tickled. :)

-our rooms have shape-shifted... my bathroom goodies have upped and walked to dhl's shower. so his place now looks lovely and homely, while the master-one is completely bare. (for the 1st time since we moved in all those years ago!...and this is our 1st renovation too, all-be-it minor.)  half our master-bedroom is is in the livingroom and playroom, with the other half under dust-sheets where it belongs. the kids' bedroom has become the family bedroom, with ky on the top bunk, dh on e bottom, and kay and i on mattresses on e floor. (knowing kay, she'll likely spend e next few days playing musical beds between dh and myself :)) it looks very cosy. i'm just not prepared for the dirt track that's going to be layed through my house tmw... rt from e front door, through the lounge and master-bedroom, and into the bahroom... add that  to the noise and flying dust from hacking...  aargh... makes me want to shape-shift with the neighbours for the day!  

 *Bird Park - kids loved the mono-rail, walk-in aviaries, (esp the suspension bridges), and the splash-and-climb zone. mum was amazed at the waterfall.

*Zoo - unfortunately the farmyard pool is under renovation, so e kids cdn't have a dip. Sam really loved the dry play-area, and i got some fab photo's. mum was pleased that e animals weren't in cages, and Sam loved the free-ranging orangutans. the fragile forest also went down well... and we all enjoyed the relaxing tram-rides along the way.

*Farms - we visited Bollywood Veggies.  mum was very keen to know more about what types of farms we had here. (she was expecting cows and row-upon-row of crops :))  it was a hot day, but they survived. the highlight for them were the eco-toilets.

*Mac Ritchie Reservoir -  we had a light snack up on the breezy hilltop.  then spotted an iguana digging for grubs in the grass on our way down to the water. it hastened up a tree-trunk as we approached, then quickly dissappeared from sight.  e kids ran ahead to see the turtles, after which we went for a leisurely jungle walk. along e way back we stopped at a sandy bank and spent a long while throwing stones into the water. the setting sun turned us into black silhouettes against a crimson sky. and for just a moment, time stood still.

*Pasir Ris Park - Sam went for a pony ride, then we headed for e beach and went for dinner. there was just enough time to have a run around the playground before it grew completely dark. on our way home i remembered that there were meant to be fireworks going off at AMK hub rooftop as part of the opening ceremony. we made it there just in time. it was a super surprise that ended our day with a bang before bedtime!

*Vivo-City - Dinner on the rooftop, then watched the sun set over the harbour. noisy construction work for sentosa resorts has opened up an awful scar on the landscape. so we averted our eyes to the boats and cable-car lights flashing in colourful fashion beyond.

*Sentosa - Palawan Beach lunch, with waterplay at the artificial stream. kynan loved digging holes in the sand, followed by kayla, his eager student. Sam enjoyed pouring water in containers at the stream, later emerging to share our ice kachang.

*Mount Faber - we got out for a short sroll ard the great ship restaurant and turtle pond. behind the tourist shop is a deserted and spacious look-out spot where one can admire unobstructed views of the busy port to the left, and the sea beyond sentosa island to the right.  

*Esplanade - rooftop walk, and outdoors ramble. then an uderground walk through the city mall, emerging at Marina Shopping Mall for dinner. a beautiful view of the bay from the top-floor coffee-shop, with the spikes of the Esplanade glistening in the setting sun.

*Clarke Quay - we went for a bumboat ride down the river. took an up-close look at the spurting merlion, the esplanade, and some impressive old bridges along the way. boat quay cafes were nicely lit-up as we made our way back to the jetty. large sculpted lunar-lanterns adorned the riverside. favourites were the intricate fishes and dolphins, frolicking in a colourful underworld of lights.

*Little India - a north indian/ Punjabi lunch at Jaggies, Race Course Road.  my mil and an aunt treated us. :)  a delicious meal, not too hot. i ate waaay too much!!! then we had a leisurely stroll to the tekka market area.  i stopped by Sinma and stocked up on colourful hairbands for Sam, as well as some socks, and a cheap plastic watch for each of the munchkins. i wd have explored and spent more time there, but kayla was desperately in need of a nap, so my $ was spared!

*Botanical Gardens - we enjoyed a surprisingly cool jungle walk, and spotted some cheeky squirrels flying through the trees, then running straight for us along the trail!. when we emerged we headed down to the Symphony Lake. the heat was getting to Sam, so we did one circuit of the pond, then went straight for lunch at that posh-nosh place near the entrance. (well the nosh wasnt that posh, but the prices sure were!) 

*Shopping - nothing extravagant or far, because Sam couldnt handle the crowds. so we hung out at Junction 8 sometimes. Sam got a combination of overdue birthday and Christmas presents, returning with a nice bundle of tops and a few pants. she also adopted the cutest little crawling baby Pooh Bear. (which she cuddled and slept with each night, and also took with her on outings)

*Pampering - it was mum's birthday while they were here. she was treated to a pedicure the day before, while Sam and the kids each painted her a sun-catcher as a birthday surprise. on the big day itself, my p/t helper brought over a great lunch that she had prepared especially for their visit. the mutton curry and rice, chicken wings, home-made chilli-sauce, broccoli with sesame seeds, along with fresh vegetable garnishings went down a treat! we went for icecreams afterwards at Swensens, and later that evening, mum blew out all 100 candles on a delicious chocolate mousse cake... while kynan led the singing of 3 different birthday songs to great fanfair!

it's been a super-action-packed month!

my mum and sister came over for a visit from South Africa. it was a wonderful chance to catch up after so many years...here's a quick sampling of what we've been up to.

-we started with a 3-day stay at Pulau Ubin. Sam loved the pool and jacuzzi. she wasn't too impressed when we got caught in a downpour at Ubin Town though. at the end of the stay, as usual, the kids didnt want to go home.

-once we were back, kynan and kayla had their usual montessori class. our guests came along, and Sam enjoyed doing puzzles in particular.

-gym and chinese classes were ongoing. we all went along, dropped kynan, then swam during and after. Sammy was so completely at home in the water. Kay loved throwing balls and water-bombs to her. it was such fun interraction for them. and kynan proudly related all his new achievements to granny and i after...

-a new experience for Sam and mum, was walking considerable distances to get to the classes and back. they found a whole new appreciation for aircon! (and Sam lost some of her waistline in the process...)

-for e 1st week or 2, both were ensconsed in their aircon bedroom while we were home. they really found it veeery hot!  mum seemed to have aclimatised after abt 10days. but Sam only started joining us in the fan-cooled living-room 1 week before she left. :)

-our days were busy as usual. but unlike previous weeks, we mostly had only 1 activity planned per day.  we also had a rest day at home occassionally to catch up. :) none-the-less, they were quite exhausted after each day's happenings, and were usually in bed between 8 and 9pm!