Dim Sum Mum - Tess' Little Pieces

a brilliant and creative family time

it's difficult getting into the swing of family time.

you don't want it always to be about food.
and you don't always want it to be about watching tv. (a bit rich coming from the mum who took her kids and eager husband to see the hugely entertaining and overpriced MONSTERs vs ALIENS the other day). and wii/video games.

the other day, our family time constituted going to the mall in charles' office, and then after a quick ice cream, heading up to charles' office. we thought we were going just to do wees, but after we got to the aforementioned office, it was just too tempting to let the kids go crazy on the whiteboards.

they were thrilled. princesses and pirates began adorning the boards.

and then i had an idea.

let's play a game! i shouted

i sat them down and said, "i am going to draw someone from a movie....you have to guess...." and so i began drawing. i think it was cruella de ville. well...it took them awhile...but then someone got it.

then it was charles' turn. he was quite good.

and then sebastian did harry potter possibly.

and then sela did some princess flick. jasper followed up with diego, and carys did tinkerbell.

we played for about 20 minutes, everyone guessing everyone's movies (but letting them finish their masterpieces first), until mummy got her grande finale, of seeing how long it took them to guess 10 movies.

i was surprised how good carys and jasper were at this game. i am an okay artist, but all i did was draw fred, daphne and vera, not even scooby and shaggy and carys guessed SCOOBY DOO!!! jasper was really good with home alone, beverley hills chihauhau and some of the other stumpers.

it was a great family time. i can see this one growing as the kids do.

we did take pictures. i might post them sometime. finding the time is so tough right now, i am so sorry.

it's good to be blogging again. and there is so much to blog about i don't know quite where to begin. let's see.

tomorrow is bootcamp. yet again i fear the highlight of my week is going to be my thursday evening shower. how pathetic does that make me sound? quite, i am sure.

i have had a great week so far. monday, i took carys to a drs appointment. when i didn't like the diagnosis, i made another appointment for another doctor for that afternoon. this doctor made a lot more sense and frankly, since we are talking adenoids and this doctor looked up carys' nose while the first one didn't, i do have confidence that we can possibly avoid surgery. so i felt like a fairly alright mum. and monday night i went walking with andrea, so i got in some girly time, always essential.

tuesday i was in the classroom, and got reconnected to what sebastian needs to be learning. that was good. then i zipped over to Bible study and got caught up with old friends. we started a new study and it looks like it is going to be great, beth moore's ascent into psalms. in the afternoon it was pretty quiet and then the evening was book club (white tiger).

today, i went to small world in the morning and took care of some matters there. the wee three were so thrilled to catch glimpses of me wandering around their hallways. we drove home and then in the afternoon i caught up with my friend janne when sebastian and janne's boy victor came by for a playdate. janne brought her daughter amalia for a playdate as well, which enchanted the girls and jasper. the afternoon ended with everyone staying for dinner and me showing janne how to make rice krispie squares which we ate for dessert.

if life is a routine, then i am so glad i have one i enjoy so much.

it was fantastic

we had a brilliant time in kk.

the kids spent equal time jumping into the pool/in the pool/in the kids club doing fun activities, while i am proud to report i only finished one book because i was also in the pool with my little kidlets! charles and i didn't watch one dvd or movie, although we did watch half an anne heche/eric roberts movie of the week where she gets him to kill her innocent husband. is it just me or is he an underrated actor?

it was a vacation that came out of the blue, paid for by money that was better spent elsewhere, but it was so fantastic.

we went parasailing! sebastian and sela too!! jasper and carys were loving being in the speedboat so much they chose not to go up but they have decided that next time they will. we fed fish, flew kites, went to the playground every day, and had a private easter service with friends of ours who were also at the resort.

it was great.

the flight is only three hours and we left 8am and were on the beach by noon. how great was that! we had two adjoining rooms, one for us and one for the kids. the hotel gave us two extra mattresses and we stuffed all four kids into the one room, although the hotel would have preferred that one child stayed in our room...we were having none of that, thank you very much! charles upgraded us to sea view rooms, and it was lovely and important to him. he needs the sea, my man!

the kids loved the chocolate fondue fountain and all the other glories of the buffet. i am happy to say we did not break one dish. i loved the bathtub!!! everything was really fantastic. we had such a great time. somehow, five days of doing nothing but eating, swimming, watching one child or another fall asleep after lunch on the sunlounger, fun activities inthe kids club, swimming, and playing with mum and dad passed...i am not sure how, and yesterday we left. we were given late checkout until 5pm, and then we headed to the airport. we plugged in the portable dvd player and started watching lady and the tramp. once on the plane, the kids began colouring, and then sela and jasper fell asleep. carys and jasper stayed up but they were getting mighty tired toward the end, and then finally, they slept as well.

we got home, thanking God that hong kong international airport is so efficient, and were in bed by midnight. asleep. hooray.

and this morning, i had unpacked by 10am.

hooray.

it is like it almost never happened, except for it did. i have the seventy five per cent empty sun cream spray bottle to prove it.

thank you charles for a great great trip.

the green light from God

today i had just finished lunch at dragon-i with paula and mel when i decided that it was time to get my hideous passport picture taken. do you know that you can no longer smile in your picture?

as i was walking to the cheapest place for passport pictures (and i now know why, the lighting, ack!) i passed by watsons chemist. on a whim, i walked in there. and decided to buy, spray on suncream. two packs - one for adults and one for children.

i paid the sum and cruised out of there. got the terrible picture taken and was told to wait for 20 minutes. as i left the shop, i picked up my phone to call charles, and flipped up the phone. someone was already there! charles!

hi honey.

hi tess, came his, yes, it has to be said, rushed response.

'sup? i inquired. he had his serious voice on.

tess, i need you to make a quick decision.

crap.

sometimes i love making quick decisions, as long as they are easy to make and don't particularly impact me. i am very good helping strangers choose outfits for their children or grandchildren, or deciding where to vacation, etc. but this? what was it?

tess,  i need to you decide where we should go on vacation for easter - kota kinabalu or bali.

what was the girl to do?

i was a bit in shock, but i stuttered out, "charles, do you know what i just did 10 minutes ago? i went into watsons and i bought suntan spf 50 and 70 cream."

sometimes God clears the grey matter for you. where i might normally have been tempted to say, "i can't do this!" the buying of the spf spray to me, was a sign that we were supposed to go.

but where?

we decided that bali, since it was a longer flight and the beaches aren't as good...will wait for another time.

tomorrow we go. in 8 hrs we go. but....jasper is coming down with a fever. we are praying God's green light will continue and the little man will respond to the medication and prayers we sent him to bed with.

the kids are ecstatic and a bit worried that they won't have their annual easter egg hunt.

next post should be from malaysia!

and if you are interested to see where we are....chchchchcheck us out!

http://www.shangri-la.com/en/property/kotakinabalu/tanjungaruresort

jasper jumps over

it has been a common sight for..ever. jasper wearing heels and a dress surrounded by ella, amelia, his sisters and other playground girls. jasper, racing around with the aforementioned girls, playing "families". when danielle's mother said to her daughter the other morning, "oh, today sela and carys are coming over!" danielle was quick to add, "and jasper!" jasper for all his years has been the metro man in the girly playgroups. 

today, ashleigh and ella came up to visit my youngest three.  they were happy and playing around the place.  and then the news came that the girls wanted to go down to ella's. seb and adam were waiting around at our place sharing snacks. ella was waiting for jasper to put on his shoes, when his nibs announced, "i want to stay here with the boys".

jasper? boys? i suppose it makes sense because he is a boy. but since when is he interested in boy things? i guess since now.

so he is now playing video games and having great times, being tutored by adam and sebastian, who are arguing over who gets the computer next.

jasper...growing up? will he stop squealing next? i can't imagine.