Did someone say, I'm on "vacation"?

When I first became a mum, a good friend of ours gave me a book, titled - Motherhood is not for the wimps. Very funny comic book but spoke volumes of truth.

I have flew home with two kids in tow. Kids that are neither toddlers nor teenagers. Kids that are at the age where they will bicker, not able to help much and full of energy. Constantly, asking, "what are we going to do?" On top of that, moving in to stay in an almost empty house meant, setting up a home so that we all could at least, live simply for the next five weeks. Oh, by the way, dh isn't with us as he has work to do.

Then, there were schools to attend. With such hyper kids, don't expect them to laze around and do nothing for five weeks, either they will be driven to madness or I will be driven six feet underground. That meant, waking up early in the morning, getting no.1 to school then follow by no.2. I am stressed, like what Buzz Lightyear said, "to infinity and beyond."



I think I just found a new meaning to "summer vacation".

Homemade TV dinner?

We will be heading home and dh will join us later. I prepared some food for him otherwise, he will be feeding himself with the three minutes noodles!


Kai called them homemade TV dinner!

Look out for my next journey...if they get the wireless up and running!

Impressive

There is one thing which I really enjoy doing here in SH, is to bring the kids to the museums and I am always impressed by their museums. Many of them are very hands-on and the kids thoroughly enjoy each visit. Their museums here make our Discovery center and the Science museum look amateur.

This being the summer vacation, I brought the kids to the newest addition to the Shanghai museum scence...The Shanghai Animation and Comics Museum. Although, not fully completed, it was already a fun-filled four hours for us. We are really looking forward to visiting the museum again when the it is fully opened.






Cartoon characters of all sorts




Simple tools - paper and pencil, that's all that's required



The hands-on part

If you think there are nothing for children to do at Shanghai, think again.

A so nomadic life

You must have realised by now that I have changed the background of my blog. I love this background as it painted a life that is always on the move. A picture that goes so well with my blog. I hope you enjoy it!

Yes, we have shifted and have finally settled into 'not-our' new home. You must be wondering why did we move...take a look at the pictures and you will surely agree that we made the right decision to move on....


The flooring started popping out


The ceiling started leaking


The rain water started sipping into the house


Now, how do you describe this.....


The ultimate...the cornice in the bathroom fell. Thank God, no one was injured. But why would you want to put a cornice in the bathroom?

Remember I blogged about the hardware and the software in my earlier post. This is another good example, the outside of the home is fabulous but the inside.....

So, with all these problems and a lot more...all beings with a sane mind will definitely want to find a safer place to house the family. DH and I embarked on our own search for a better and safer home for the kids (so much for an expat life).

We have a problem and we have to find a solution. Sitting and waiting for someone to solve the problem isn't the way to go. With God as our real estate agent, we found our home. You will be amazed at the similarities between this new home and our home in the US of A. It is really de-ja-vu!

The BIG move... again



All packed and ready to go. KC Dat was very professional, they packed and shifted and unpacked, all within five hours!
Having packed most of the small items before hand, it really helps to get things done fast!


Our new home...those of you who have visited us at Macungie, don't you think they look alike.

The most identitical - kitchen in USA


Kitchen in SH


even the shelves are exactly the same - USA


SH


Toilet - USA.


SH - Notice the sink and the cabinet and even the blinds


Fireplace - USA


SH

Yes, this nice lovely house brings us wondeful memories. It is smaller than our first house, simpler than our first house but it oozes out lots of warmth. Even my part-time helper said that this house has so much warmth. 这间屋子真温心.

BEWARE!!!! Mum's bragging

Yes, I cannot say enough of my this little son. If this proves too much for you to handle, you can skip and move on to the next post because this is all about a mama's bragging.

Kai is a very intelligent boy but lazy and careless. To him, as long as he finishes his work, nothing else matters. He is so careless to the extent that there was once, he left out a full page of questions unanswered! He never draws a line with a ruler and no, he is not those who can draw a straight line. His idea is always, "a line is a line, nevermind if it is not straight, it is still a line". That's why, his sequence of strokes in writing a Chinese character is seldom correct. To him, the word is correct, so let it be. That brings us to his handwriting. They are untidy. Sometimes, it is good that God sends us "difficult" people. They are put in our lives for a purpose. Kai's Science teacher once made him erase all his wirtings and rewrite again. She also made him erase his lines and redraw them with a ruler. Oh, thank God for her because that made him change considerably. I thought she would made him dislike Science but no, he went on to top his grade for Science during the mid-year exams and again for the final year exams and with an improvement in his grades too.

Before his exams, I set a target for him and that was to come home with 3 A* and a B (for Chinese). I told him you must always aim high, at the end of the day, even if you don't hit your target, it is alright at least you have tried your best to achieve them. And he went for the kill. He came back with 2A* 1A and 1B and a trophy!

For a boy who is so sentimental, I must say that he did extremely well. He shifted from Singapore to US to China. You know every move for him was very difficult. He missed his friends, he wondered why the family must always be on the move. Inspite of all these, he excelled in his studies. Perhaps, these changes in his life have matured him. Sometimes, tough times push a person to his limit and therefore he excels. And I think, Kai is such a person. Even in the area of his Chinese, he has shown vast improvement. I thank his Chinese tutor but he was right in saying that Kai, himself also put in a lot of hard work. 夏凯自己也下了不少功夫！

We live in a society where children as young as two are put into all kinds enrichment classes and tuition classes to prepare them for primary school. I am very proud to say that we chose not to do that to both of our children. We always felt that they deserve to have a happy childhood. Childhood is all about discovering and playng and having fun and looking back, that was a great thing to do because leaving them to grow and bloom at their own pace is the best for them!



Mama's pride

My words of wisdom to my two children (and even to myself) is..."soar like an eagle and don't bum around like a turkey and end up on someone's dinner table. Have you seen an eagle at a dinner table?" They always laugh but they knew what mama means...

My little princess has graduated!

Yes, Ann has finished her pre-school years. She has studied in Singapore, America and China! Her learning experience has opened up her mind far and wide and she has been exposed to all kinds of cultures, customs and school systems. She has an international group of friends. She has adapted very well to each new environment, far exceeded my expectations. Change is difficult but change is good. Ann is now a very confident little girl and she is able to hold a conversation with her teachers and even the head of department... (gosh, do I sound like I am writing remarks for her report book!) Oh yes, she is very bilingual.


The little 'scholar'!

The stage is theirs

People always say "time flies" but to me, I find time just rockets by...

It has been one tough year in Shanghai for me but for the kids, it has been one amazing, happy learning journey. As long as they are happy, mama is happy.

The school term has come an an end and the school did the most courageous thing...gathering 307 gregarious school children to put up a fantastic performance at a theater outside of the school. School children, I don't mean kids who are from just the primary school. I mean kids, as young as two, three years old. If you are a parent, you know how difficult it is to just control one or two of them but a bunch of them, it is not a job for everyone. So, I must salute the teachers, helpers and all staff of the school, who did such a manificent job. Not just controlling them but co-ordinating and enabling them to put up a great show. One of the best school concert I have ever attended.

Kai and Ann were also involved and they were clearly excited since day one of their preparations. Kai was telling me that it would be his first time performing on stage. (Actually, it wasn't his first time, when he was about three, he did a mini piano recital but guess, he was too young then to remember anything). So, to him, this was his first...


The very grand theater and the stage


Ann in her Chinese brush dance. She was such a natural on stage and I really think, the stage is THE place for her


Kai in his 'Chim Chim Cher-ee' performance. Third from your right. He was such a cutie in that costume!



The rest of the performances...

This event will go down as one of the most memorable time for both Kai and Ann. Thank you for the wonderful time.