Keeping Them Busy

On days when the Bees just wanted to chill out at home without doing much activities, there are some unstructured free play that could engage these 2 active girls for fairly long periods of time. Where they can play together, unsupervised, and not including outdoor playground or walking time. 

Which means a rare reprieve of relaxation for me in the middle of the day, especially since both of them do not nap at all these days! 

1) Water Play

Timeout: 1 hour

This gem from Early Learning Centre (ELC) can give me a full hour of much needed peace and quiet. We would set up the water play centre in our balcony, changed the Bees into their swimwear, sat back and watched the Bees enjoy an hour of merry water play with plenty of toys thrown in. Very effective but utterly wet indeed! 

Contented and relaxed water play with lots of toys!

2) Paper Snow

Timeout: 30 minutes

Little Bee is a great fan of the scissors these days. Her favourite activity in school and at home is to cut random pieces of paper into a plethora of shapes and sizes. 

On a few occasions that Big Bee was interested to join in, they both cut lots of recycled papers into piles of small bite-sized pieces. Then they would both giggle in high anticipation, gather these miniscule pieces of paper together and throw them high up in the room. Yelling and screaming "SNOWING!!!!!!!!" as these bits of imaginary snow drifted down onto 2 delighted beings. 

It is extremely messy to clean up but well worth the time spent when I see the pure enchantment in their faces as they transformed their imagination into fruition. Very fulfilling indeed :)

The mess of "snow" on the floor but the look of delight on their faces is priceless indeed

3) Dancing and Singing! 

Timeout: 30 minutes to an hour, depending on how sweaty they are!

The Bees love dancing to happening fast music. From electrifying techno music to sexy retro tunes to upbeat Bollywood disco songs. Once, I draped my belly dancing scarves for each of them and taught them the basics of belly dancing, then Hubby turned on some exotic tunes from an Indian radio station. We sat back and enjoyed an utterly sizzling show of invigorating belly dancing from the Bees!

Spent belly dancers after 30 minutes of hip wriggling! 

On yet another occasion, the belly dancers were metamorphosed into cheerleaders, using the pom poms to create boisterous cheer moves. 

Finally, we bought a couple of children's karaoke DVDs to entertain them. With or without microphones, we can usually expect about 30 minutes of uninterrupted time as they were enthralled by the tunes and sang along, while we clapped in appreciation (and gratitude of the free time we get!).

4) Painting and Drawing

Timeout: 45 minutes to an hour

On days or evenings that I do not wish to teach them anything yet want them to do something fairly constructive, I would whip out our reliable paintbrushes, pencils and drawing paper. The Bees would then spend some quiet time transferring what were broiling in their imaginative minds onto paper. 

Big Bee would usually prefer to draw different scenes from her life experiences, whereas Little Bee would relish in painting large strokes of different colours which may contain volumes of hidden meanings to her which we cannot decipher!  

"A Trip To The Zoo" by Big Bee (click on the painting to see a slightly larger version of it)

"Earthy", an abstract creation by Little Bee

Travel Memoirs: Big In Japan

And that was what happened to me. Big in Japan last week. 3 days in Tokyo = 1.5 kg heavier! 

I love Japan for its gentle yet rich culture. The fact that everyone seems so extremely polite. Where juxtaposition is a way of life - from the timelessness of Zen gardens to the fervid yet organised crowds of the rush hour in Shinjuku. Yet, sometimes, it is disturbing for me to be reminded of their intense cruelty in Asia during World War 2. I find it hard to reconcile their multiple acts of violence with the somewhat restrained yet civil society that surrounded me last week.

The weather was magnificent last week - so pleasantly cool with a touch of chill in the evenings, and clear cerulean blue skies in the biting air of the mornings. Wondrous.

Gorgeous winter sky and achingly beautiful trees with bare branches

Most of all, I love Japan for its food! And I will make it my personal objective every time I am there to feast incessantly on Japanese food. 

One of the quaint traditional restaurants that I sauntered past constantly on my way back to the hotel. I was so tempted to enter alone but was daunted by the Japanese language menu

From the succulent delight of springy ramen to the jubilant charm of exquisite bentos. From the breathtaking arrangements of food too gorgeous to be eaten to the delectable and pretty snacks dotting the ubiquitous grocery stores. I would gorge myself during all meals and then furtively stashed a whole inventory of delicious snacks back to my hotel room where I could revel in these sweet sins with immaculate relish.

Food presentation is truly an art in Japan

Hence, the extra 1.5 kg after less than 3 days of constant indulgence. I am ashamed. Yet I never fail to bring home copious boxes of daintily-packed snacks in all shapes and sizes from Narita airport. To be stuffed back into my poor overworked stomach at home. Help! 

Out Of The Box

Little Bee had been displaying somewhat defiant, out of the box behaviour during learning sessions - compared to her very disciplined big sister at the same age. As I was flipping through her Chinese exercise book one evening, I was aghast to see 2 big doodles in 2 of the empty pages where the kids are supposed to paste Chinese phrases and draw them out in the upcoming weeks.

I stared at the page, looked at her proud face when she noticed I was looking at her drawing, and asked her, "Erm, does 老师 know you drew this in the page for next week's work?" 

She looked at me innocently and quipped, "NOPE!" Then she continued excitedly, "This is Mickey Mouse! From Disneyland!" And flashed a dazzling smile, asking for my approval of her drawing. I did not have the heart to tell her that she was not supposed to doodle in these pages. 

Her version of Mickey Mouse

She has been writing her name in upper caps fairly well by now, and is progressing to scrawling her name in the lower caps all by herself, just from imitation, after she started attending N2 this year. She has also been trying to spell out her name aloud, from memory. 

She started cultivating an interest in tracing the outline of her little hands since our learning theme of "All About Me". This was done all by herself when she was trying to entertain herself, unsupervised. 

I was told by her teacher that she is very interested in painting, always wanting to be first in class when painting starts. Indeed, she had been doodling a lot at home, possibly as a form of self expression as her spoken articulation skills are still not as fluent yet. 

Just this evening, she whipped out her box of paints and paintbrushes, and started painting an apple tree with 4 big red apples in the tree all by herself! I was delighted when she asked me to look at her drawing. 

Self portrait - doesn't it look like Alvin the Chipmunk or something?!

She started drawing animals and told me this picture is about an ant (at bottom of the page) trying to eat a long hotdog with a cat (!!??)

Conversations with her

Little Bee is growing up so fast yet I am constantly amazed at her innocence and naivete through conversations with her. 

Last Saturday afternoon, Hubby and I had the good opportunity of spending private time with her as Big Bee was attending one of her many parties with her friends. We were shopping in Zara and saw a wonderful collection of really adorable baby shoes for tiny infants. After I "oohed" and "aahed" substantially, Little Bee ogled at the shoes with big round eyes, stared at me and launched into this conversation with me:

Little Bee: "(Little Bee) cannot wear these shoes. Too small for me. These are for dogs. Dog shoes!"

She beamed her signature grin as I broke into amused chuckles. 

Mummy: "No! These are not the dog shoes that Mummy showed you before. These are for really tiny babies!"

Little Bee: (stared at me unconvincingly) "Oh. (sounding rather downcast) Baby shoes? For babies?"

She then gingerly picked a pair of diminutive sneakers up, stared at them intensely, then looked at me with a dubious expression and declared with a definitive level of confidence...

Little Bee: "This is for dogs. Very small. These are dog shoes!"

*faint*

On another occasion at home, she called out, "Mummy! I want to shh shh!" As she was perched on the toilet bowl, she looked at me woefully, looked downwards, shook her head and uttered, "Oopsy, no shh shh. Shh Shh is sleeping." *???*

This is such a wonderful time in her life, when she is blooming with innocence and communicating through different means. Terrific threes indeed! 

Cognizance

I happened to wake up at 6am this morning, despite it being a Sunday. I guess it must be a result of the body clock subtly ringing its internal alarm after all the weekdays of waking at the same time. 

It was a luxury to be able to be awake before all the hustle and bustle when Hubby and kids wake up. To have a few moments of tranquil silence for myself to reflect on. To be attuned to the sounds and smells of the awakening earth in the vivification of dawn without any foreground or background distractions of children, husband or daily chores. Just awareness of myself as an individual riding the crest of a stirring day. 

As mothers, I think all of us know how precious these moments are. Yes, it is enlivening to have children clamouring for our attention the whole day long. It is gratifying for our husbands to plan home movie nights after the children had drifted off to dreamland. But it is also important to be up, awake, refreshed and rejuvenated after a satisfying night's rest, to be by ourselves, in a state of halcyon solitude, restfully listening to our thoughts and the senses in our bodies. Feeling close to Mother Nature, listening to birds chirping to the rising sun, feeling the crisp cool morning air caressing our faces, observing the nascent light of the day gradually blossoming in the lightening sky. 

This morning, I chose to indulge in a round of yoga to further harmonize myself with the reviving earth. It is the best form of exercise that I had been enjoying since a decade back. Stretching the limbs of our body. Reflecting inwardly. Meditating amidst full awareness of a rising dawn. Beauty beyond description. 

Thereafter, my senses became more acute, my preception was more judicious, my spirit and body more fortified for the chores of the day ahead. (And my PMS angst more subdued, haha) Exquisite indeed. 

Learning At Home: Weather

Last November, our homelearning revolved around the fascinating theme of weather, one of my personal favourites. With the volatile weather in November, it was the perfect month for the Bees to experience first-hand what they had learned! 

Featured books

There are so many fantastic books on different types of weather. Books that the Bees particularly like are:

Crazy About Clouds (recommended for bigger kids, with such an easy and engaging way of recognising different cloud types!)

I Love The Rain 

The Snowman (highly recommended with such a sweet and meaningful storyline)

Lost In The Snow

Key songs

Mr Sun

Rain rain go away

Games

We indulged in so many fun games that ultimately taught them a bit about weather. We played more frequently with bubbles so they were able to learn the concept of wind, as they chased merrily after the bubbles that drifted randomly off in different directions. 

The most enjoyable game for them was when Hubby took out a can of shaving cream and started spraying out the soft white foam for them to squish and squash like snow! Lots of delighted squeals emanated from the 2 excited girls as they took turns squeezing out the shaving foam, accumulating it to a huge mass of avalanche, attempting to build a snowman (but the foam was too soft!) and finally, indulging in some role-playing of battling dinosaurs during the Ice Age! That was a fun evening, all orchestrated by Hubby :) 

Creating an avalanche of snow!

Guess who's the victorious dinosaur that buried its fierce competitor in the snow?

Weather recognition

I created a weather wheel with a piece of paper, cardboard and a pin (and Big Bee coloured everything!). Then I made the Bees turn the arrow to the correct weather twice a day. They loved it so much. This is a wonderful way to strengthen their recognition of different types of weather through repetitive reinforcement. I should have included the words of the weather like "sunny" or "snowy" to fortify Little Bee's recognition of words though. 

Craftwork

Little Bee created a vibrant sun using a paper plate which she painted yellow for the sun's jolly face, and handprint cut-outs as dazzling sunrays. She also stuck on white round stickers and doodled in Mr Sun's eyeballs and a brilliant smile. I wrote down numbers for each sunray, and got her to identify each number as she was sticking on the handprints. This is a subtle and fun way of enhancing her number recognition. 

Because it was a holiday month, I got lazy and just took put pieces of coloured paper, paints and cotton wools for them to produce works of art relating to weather with minimal guidance from lazy Mummy. I simply instructed them on the types of weather to work on, then Big Bee would zoom off to innovate her version of art, with Little Bee always emulating what the jie jie drew. 

"Pitter Patter Rain" by Big Bee, using white cotton pads (i could not find fluffy cotton wools at home!), white paint and blue glitter

"A Tempestuous Day" by Little Bee

"A Snowman Calling For His Christmas Tree" by Big Bee using white paint

"S for Snowman with an Oversized Hat" by Little Bee. She also tried drawing clouds and snowflakes like her sister, in case you are baffled!

"Tumultuous Storm Cloud" by Little Bee

I tried to ensure that they covered all aspects of weather, so we also painted rainbows using poster colours, and I explained to them how rainbows were formed. Little Bee grasped the concept well and when I asked her what were needed for rainbows to form, she was able to spontaneously yell out "sun" and "raindrops" (although technically it should be droplets of moisture!). 

Math: Join the dots and recognising numbers to 12

Little Bee started working on "join the dots" activity sheets, and she was able to count in sequence from 1 to 20. The challenge lies in getting her to recognise these numbers, and this activity helped as she happily connected all the dots of the sun while reciting her numbers. Her colouring skills need improvement though! She does not have much patience to colour, I notice. 

Writing and letter recognition "r"

I am trying to teach her all the lower case alphabets and she is now able to recognise most of them. For this theme, we worked on the letter "r" for "rain" and "rainbow". We rolled our tongues for the "r" sound and Little Bee wrote a series of "r" in this handy little writing book. 

Meteorology

One of my career ambitions when I was younger was to be a meteorologist, before I sadly realised there are limited weather systems to explore in Singapore! Hence, I used to delve into weather science a far bit in school, and cloud studies with associated weather systems was one of my favourite topics. 

With Big Bee, whenever we were out, I would point out different cloud types for her and got her to help identify some of the easier cloud types. We even tried our hands at weather forecasting, merely by looking at the clouds high above us and feeling the direction and speed of the wind around us. 

Big Bee was thrilled and was able to identify the major cloud types by the end of the month and could associate simple weather patterns to them (eg huge cumulus nimbus clouds with grey bases could mean potential showers soon). We were very lucky in November as the weather changed its temperament quite regularly, so we could capture myriad cloud types. 

This is an excellent site for big kids to learn about cloud types with fun games and digestible information for parents and kids to talk about! 

Field trip: Kite flying!

We ended this theme with a grand finale of kite-flying in Marina Barrage. That was truly a fantastic conclusion to this theme, on an amazingly blustery day with different types of clouds tumbling past rapidly! 

Precious Presents

It is very evident that Big Bee loves Hubby and me a lot and would go to great lengths to make us happy. Sometimes, when I am displeased with her, I can tell she would get very hurt. She never ever did anything mean to me, and I try my best to wrap my temperament around her highly sensitive personality by showering an abundance of love and encouragement to her. She is truly transforming into a mature thoughtful girl indeed!  

Over the Christmas period, she was furtively working on a project for me. Everytime I sauntered into her room whenever she was bent diligently over her desk, she would scurry up hurriedly, cover everything surreptitiously and shooed me out. It went on for about 1.5 weeks. I was highly amused and relished this wonderful game with my daughter. 

Somewhere around the New Year, she presented her gift that she pored over for days - a gorgeous, magnificent mosaic mural of a breathtaking rising sun with brilliant rays. She painstakingly cut and paste every single tiny mosaic piece on the painting all by herself, concocting her very own design! She told me she was inspired by one of our craft books when she was flipping through it for a handmade present for me. I was so touched and elated. So was she, grinning broadly when I gave her a tight hug. 

Big Bee's pretty sunrise mural

On another recent occasion, during my birthday, she clandestinely bought a lovely decorative souvenir from her bookshop as a birthday present for me, even though I was with her in school. I was tickled when she told me not to peep into the package. She told me later the careful selection process she underwent in the bookshop when purchasing this for me on her own. How sweet! 

Her first paid birthday present for me...I suspect my own Mum had a hand in contributing to it financially! ;)

Whatever her gifts are - whether they are handmade or bought - I am so gratified that Big Bee has now grown into a big thoughtful girl, making efforts to create memorable tokens to put a smile on our faces. 

I was not the only lucky one. Little Bee received a simple but special pen with a handwritten note from Big Bee for Children's Day, and Hubby was also on the happy receiving end last Father's Day!

Little Bee was delighted with this present and kept kissing jie jie thereafter! 

Something For Everyone

Sunday mornings are best spent in a hushed, quiet environment with a lush backdrop of green open spaces and mind-boggling arrays of books. It is amazing how a medium sized library in Queenstown could bring forth a cornucopia of books! The variety is stupefying and the environment is so conducive. 

We ended up with something for each of us! Hard covered (and very new) picture books with flaps for Little Bee. Mandarin books for Big Bee. War books for Hubby. Books on the Khmer Rouge genocide for me. Enough reading for this coming month. For free! 

NLB is a wonderful establishment indeed. 

Relentless Tournaments

Saturday night was spent with PF's family over a cosy dinner at our estate's cafe, followed by an entire evening of bone-cracking, back-breaking and muscle-wrenching marathon of sports. Virtual sports, I mean.

 

The 3 older kids indulged themselves in bowling, tennis, baseball and golf, cackling away with laughter when one of them made a mistake, whooping in joy when their teams won and hopping around in sheer excitement when they met up with challenging competitors. Little Bee was a supportive spectator, being a wee bit young to play, yelling out words of encouragement! 

After they went back, I continued the duel with Big Bee while Little Bee was transported to dreamland. I was fairly addicted to the tennis and golf games, and amazingly, my arms were aching this morning! Good bout of exercise indeed! 

开心果

Little Bee loves going to school. Every afternoon, she will anticipate the school bus, arranging her uniform and adopting a very sunny cheery disposition. She will then take the bus with my mother, sitting with her friends in the bus and yakked non-stop with them. 

The moment she reaches school, she will start jumping up and down in pure excitement and glee at the lobby area. Then she will scuttle up the stairs to her classroom and starts hopping like a frenzied rabbit at the entrance of her classroom. Her Chinese teacher told my mother that she is the class' "开心果".

Every night when I ask her how's school, she is sure to yell out loud "Very FUNNNN!" She takes the schoolbus home by herself, and she will tell me stories of how she always tickles and chats with her "long haired friend" with "Strawberry Shortcake shoes". 

Yesterday, her teacher wrote this in the parents' book:

"Little Bee has settled in very well in her new environment. She mingles around pretty well and has started to interact with some of the girls. Good try, Little Bee!" 

I am so happy that she loves her new school. Well done, my baby :) 

Escape To Disneyland

We decided on a Hong Kong trip for 2 main reasons: 1) A short flight journey for Little Bee, who was travelling by air for the first time and 2) To allow the Bees a mini Disneyland escapism. The Bees could not get enough of Disneyland, but we were not fans of the crowded concrete jungle on the streets of Hong Kong.

Here are some highlights from our trip.

Day 1, 14 Dec (Mon)

1) The best part of a holiday is always leaving home for the airport. The sense of anticipation of the adventure ahead of us. The excitement of leaving routine at home, to be greeted by languid days of nothing but play and exploration! 

We left our home at 8am to catch a 9.40am flight to HK. Big Bee was an accomplished traveller, having travelled to 7 countries since she was 2, so we left her to her own devices on the airplane, indulging herself in the in-flight entertainment system. It was such a breeze travelling with her these days! 

Little Bee was surprisingly an adaptable traveller, fiddling with the entertainment system for two-thirds of the journey and eating her yummy child's meal for the rest of the journey. 

2) The arrival at Disneyland Hotel was magical. Our room had a balcony and directly faced the vast expanse of sea and stupendous views of misty islands, across which the glittering skyscrapers of Hong Kong Island beckoned seductively at us. We, however, still preferred the less congested albeit commercialised haven of the Disneyland nook on Lantau Island! 

3) Everything in Disneyland Hotel was scintillating for the Bees - the Mickey icon bedroom slippers tailored for all 4 of our feet's sizes, the stunning lofty lobby with a breathtaking Christmas tree and splendid chandeliers, the enormous labyrinth on the hotel grounds and more! The Bees were squealing at every cranny of the hotel and as we are all devoted fans of Disney, we felt its enchantment everywhere we strolled. 

4) We had such a wonderful time running through the labyrinth in the cool twilight, with mellifluous background music of scores of birds twittering their evening songs, and the bewitching background setting of thousands of twinkly fairy lights from the awe-inspiring hotel. Hubby created a series of impromptu competitions for all of us in the labyrinth and it was such a strong bonding start to our holiday. 

5) Sitting down for a Chinese dinner with succulent sweet and sour pork and mouthwatering roast pigeon, amongst other luscious goodies in a restaurant with divine decor.

6) Sinking into 2 big beds at the end of one exciting day, giggling and whispering deep into the night, full of anticipation for Disneyland the day after! 

Day 2, 15 Dec (Tue)

Disneyland, here we come! This was the 3rd time to a Disneyland for Papa, Big Bee and me, and the very 1st time for Little Bee. Yet, despite all the negative remarks we heard about HK Disneyland, we were still mesmerized by the dense Disney ambience. 

Little Bee believed that she finally met the "real" Mickey Mouse and many other Disney characters, and was grinning foolishly whenever the characters strolled past. Big Bee was still in love with the endearing Christmas-themed "Small World" ride, having sat through the same ride 7 times in Japan 2 years ago. 

What we really treasured and enjoyed was strutting in Main Street with tiny fake snowflakes (that looked so real!) drifting wondrously on us! With the temperature plunging to about 10-13 degrees when we were there, it almost felt like a winter holiday! The Bees were beaming with pure unadulterated delight, hopping about, waving their arms and even sticking out their tongues to catch the "snowflakes" while experiencing this exquisite "snowfall"! It was such a joy for Hubby and I to witness their immense happiness. 

We sat through other interesting rides, watched a Lion King show, and experienced a signature Disney parade which got the kids gaping with dumbfounded fascination. We strutted throughout the relatively small park, soaking in the enchantment of Disney. Unfortunately, it started pouring during dinnertime, and we had to queue miserably in the freezing rain for a place in a restaurant, with us staring longingly at the warmth within the cosy restaurant, reminding me of a scene straight out of Oliver Twist or The Little Matchstick Girl!

The grand finale of the day was undoubtedly the enthralling Disney fireworks over the Sleeping Beauty castle which we watched in the rain! The Bees were enraptured by the dazzling lights, brilliant sparkles and nostalgic music. So was Hubby and I! What a ravishing ending to an almost perfect day! 

Day 3, 16 Dec (Wed)

More Disneyland delights today! The Bees woke up with excited anticipation for they would be having breakfast with Mickey and friends! This popular (and overpriced!) breakfast with Disney characters is a dream for most children, to be chomping on scrumptious food in the company of various Disney characters. Even most parents were conspicuously charmed!

The Bees were upclose and personal with Mickey, Pluto and Goofy - much to my disappointment, as I was expecting more characters really. These 3 characters were hobnobbing with restaurant guests throughout much of the entire breakfast session, which I thought were highly disruptive to the kids' appetites - they could hardly eat as they were so distracted by these characters! 

After breakfast, we ambled past a Disney Princess makeover studio and Hubby was insistent that his darlings be transformed to mini princesses, much to my chagrin! However, the Bees were ecstatic, indulging in the entire pampering session for almost 2 hours. They were truly treated like princesses, each with a makeup artist doting on them, metamorphosing them from innocent little girls to bewitching Disney princesses. 

In no time, I was able to have Aurora and Belle in my arms, calling me Mummy! The Bees were utterly immersed in the whole process and Big Bee told me this was one of the key highlights of the trip for her! 

We set forth to Disneyland thereafter, with the Bees insisting that they must still be clad in their Sleeping Beauty and Beauty and The Beast costumes, despite the cold weather. Unfortunately, in Disneyland, Big Bee suffered from a sudden bout of stomachache, and we spent much of the afternoon ensconced in a majestically-themed foodcourt that was reminiscent of the might of King Arthur and his knights! The Disney fan in me was enjoying the omnipotent, all-encompassing magic of Disneyland even when sitting in a foodcourt, anxious about Big Bee! 

She recovered shortly from the stomachache after some comfort foods and nurturing attention from Hubby and me, while Little Bee snoozed fitfully amidst the hustle and bustle of the foodcourt, something she had learned to do so well on holiday - sleeping whenever and wherever she was overcome by fatigue! 

We could not remain in Disneyland longer, to our disappointment, as the weather was getting darker and chillier. Instead, we relaxed with Big Bee in the magnificent ambience of the hotel lobby, chilling to the live Christmas music of an adroit pianist, while waiting for Little Bee to be awake. Big Bee relished this private time with us as we were able to devote our total attention on her. I had never seen her happier in a long time! 

Eventually, we made our way to Kowloon for the second leg of our journey, still with a snoozing Little Bee...dazzled by the twinkling city lights of the impressive Hong Kong skyline. 

We reached The Langham, comforted by its lush interiors and luxurious decor. We pampered the Bees with their favourite room service while enjoying fantastic time as a family, relishing the delights of uninterrupted quality time with the Bees. 

We ended this long day, all 4 of us squeezing amidst much chuckles, ticklings and giggles onto one single king-sized bed. Cosiness exemplified indeed. 

Day 4, 17 Dec (Thu)

Hubby and I are never fans of Hong Kong's dense city crowds, hence we weren't too excited with the prospect of spending a day in its suffocating city. Therefore, after an uneventful lunch in an enormous spanking new but impersonal mall, we decided to escape the urban squeeze. 

1) We meandered through the winding roads of Hong Kong Island to emerge into the quaint and idyllic Stanley area. A tad touristy, yes, but Hubby and I had always loved the laidback and calming atmosphere of Stanley, which was like a little seaside town in tranquil repose. We wandered through the narrow, labyrinth-like market, sniffing for cheap bargains and pretty artifacts. We sauntered by the promenade beside the sea, with the Bees running about in free-spirited glee. We dawdled in a tiny alfresco cafe for tea, nourished by its sweet superb desserts and excellent coffee. We loitered and dilly-dallied, a luxury we could not get in our busy schedules back home. 

The Bees, though dearly missing their beloved Disneyland, were beginning to enjoy this gallivanting, lingering afternoon delight that seemed like an eternity.

2) We ascended the Peak in the chilly hours of twilight and gazed at the resplendent night scene of Hong Kong's amazingly dense skyscrapers in awed reverence. The twinkling lights of the city beckoned charmingly to us, and there seemed to be a hush that descended upon this blanket of lights. 

3) We had a magnificent dinner in a cosy restaurant with splendid food and even more superb views. Overlooking the entire glittering vista of Hong Kong's dazzling city, our appetites were magnified, ensconced in a cosy private room with excellent service. We chatted merrily and laughed gaily. What a glorious end to a beautifully languid day!  

 

Day 5, 18 Dec (Fri)

A day devoted to Ocean Park - need I say more? 

1) The Bees were fascinated by the dolphin and sea-lion show, especially Little Bee, who talked about it for weeks after we were back in Singapore. 

2) They were intrigued by 2 underwater exhibits, one comprising of a huge plethora of underwater creatures and the other one with ethereal, graceful jellyfish, almost in complete darkness, much to Little Bee's fear! 

3) We had lunch in a restaurant with stupendous views, overlooking Hong Kong Island's captivating panoramic expanses of sea with emerald hills. It was heavenly just sitting in our very comfortable dining booth, gazing out at the picturesque sights. 

4) We were all spellbound by the cute, chubby and seemingly affable panda bears in the Panda exhibit, and stood still for a long while, observing every little action of this rare species. 

5) We took a few amusement rides with the Bees immersing themselves in enormous playgrounds. Big Bee was always enamored by carnival games, so she tried her hand at one game where she needed to toss balls on a few coloured rings to win prizes. To our amazement, she won the jumbo and medium prizes - a giant purple bear that was taller than Little Bee and a lovable brown dog that the Bees could hug. The sheer happiness and joy on Big Bee when she won the prizes, with the bell clanging her victory loudly, was a priceless scene indeed. 

6) Finally, we were enraptured by the overpowering razzle-dazzle of twinkly Christmas lights all around Ocean Park as night gradually descended on us. 

7) We went back to our hotel, spent but cheerful, and had a perfect time bonding over hawker food that Hubby bought - all in the comfort of the hotel room before we cuddled each other to sleep in sweet beatitude. 

Day 6, 19 Dec (Sat)

We were somewhat lost as to what to do today, hence we decided to head down to the Avenue Of The Stars promenade for an awe-inspiring view of Hong Kong's renowned city skyline. The Bees loved the wide spaces of the promenade and we let them squeal and run around in blissful delight. 

We had a gastronomical experience with absolutely scrumptious dimsum, with the Bees giggling and chatting loudly in the restaurant - again with lovely views. 

We then ambled aimlessly around the crowded weekend streets of Tsim Sha Tsui before the Bees and us decided to call it a day and retreated back into the cosy comfort of our hotel room by 4.30pm, preparing to depart the next morning :) 

This is an awesome trip in which we all spent a phenomenal amount of time together - uninterrupted, focused and overflowing with fun and love! 

Carefree Days No More

The long carefree days of the year end holidays are officially over. Last week signalled the start of a brand new year with the entire family reverting to old routines of school, work, homework and enrichment classes. No more aimless, lingering afternoons of repose and lazy play. No more spontaneous or impromptu outings. And with me going back to work, no more long days with the Bees at home that seemed to extend each day unto an eternity.

In Hong Kong Disneyland, grinning in front of Sleeping Beauty's castle

Last year was a milestone for the Bees in their school lives. Big Bee entered into a new chapter of her life in primary one, and I am delighted that she had cope well - not just academically, but more importantly, socially, as she learned about the vicissitudes and harshness of interacting with 29 other classmates, many with typical childhood petty and nasty traits. Over the holidays, she had confided some friendship issues that led to heartbreak in little children. I am happy to lend a listening ear, supporting her decisions and just being there for her. But I am glad she had emerged stronger and more confident, learning that this world is not as rosy as what she experienced in her preschool. 

The Bees on the windswept seafront promenade, facing the skyscrapers of Hong Kong Island

The first week of 2010 was rife with busy schedules and unexpected pleasant surprises. On the Sunday before school started, Big Bee displayed her first traits of autonomous responsibility and accountability without any guidance from us. By dinnertime, she was bugging me that she had to pack her schoolbag. We gazed in wonderment at her, as she went about briskly and businesslike, packing her bags with her new textbooks, sharpening pencils herself, arranging her uniform, and reminding me brusquely of school matters. I nodded my head in obedience to her requests, feeling more like a child with a parent! I told her how impressed I was with her transformation in primary two, which was a far cry from her helpless self at the start of primary one. She went away shyly, absorbing my comments in quiet delight.

And over the weekend, she excitedly requested to work on her brand new assessment books, poring over the Math and English questions with enthusiasm. I had to persuade her to stop working on them so that we could spend some private time together! I was in total disbelief, and hoped this wonderful attitude will sustain throughout the academic year!

Unfortunately, immediately after the first day in school, she fell sick with a medium grade fever, and was happily recuperating at home for 2 days. The fever must have made its rounds from Little Bee the week before! 

We are all gritting our teeth until the next mini break in March. Hang on there! 

Coming Of Age

Little Bee stepped onto the threshold of a new episode in her little life with formal school towards the last quarter of 2009. Her journey was a wee bit bumpy initially, but she was sailing smoothly shortly after, receiving positive reviews from her preschool teachers. She had learned independence and we will accept that she would soon be like Big Bee, leading a separate life on her own, away from us.

In HK Disneyland in front of her favourite princesses

This year, Little Bee is in a new school for N2, moving back to her sister's old school where fond memories of laughter, nurturing love and wide green spaces are still indelible in my mind. I took the school bus with her on the first day, but sat away from her, and I was pleased to see her happy and settled, not in any way shocked or surprised by the happenings of the first school day. In school, she settled down without any difficulty, adjusting well to her new teacher, who was coincidentally Big Bee's N2 ex-teacher! Everyone in the school still remembered Big Bee, and commented on the similarities between Big Bee and Little Bee. 

With her jiejie in front of "It's A Small World Ride"

In class, Little Bee immediately sat down and started scribbling some alphabets on a blank piece of paper. Her proper demeanour and sobriety when writing indicated that she could differentiate "schooling" activities versus home ones! She gazed at crying children with maturity and calmness, and then went on confidently with quiet play. 

The first letters she scribbled in class...I wonder who is Mae?!

Thereafter, throughout the week, she was excitedly preparing for school everyday, happily arranging her uniform and eagerly anticipating the school bus. One evening, when we fetched her home ourselves, she expressed her disappointment, asking us, "Papa fetching me? Huh? No school bus? I want school bus!!" *scowled*

Every evening when I asked her how was school, she would give me an upbeat "VERY FUN!!" She was able to accurately tell me what she ate, and even explained to me what they learned in class. She seemed to be settling well socially, telling me she has a lot of friends, and confiding in me that there are "naughty children in the class who run (sic) around" but that she was a good girl, sitting down quietly. 

Her first Chinese words to recognise, together with her version of herself...smiling and happy in class!

With both kids going to school, I cannot help but feel that Hubby and I are getting older and that another phase in our lives is starting...