Crazy Bands

Sushi has accumulated a number of Crazy Bandz over the year from friends and classmates, mostly from lootbags. His very first were from cousins Chris & Ann. It's not as fashionable to the boys as it is with the girls or the teens it seems. The most that Sushi has done with them was leaving them to glow in the dark. But he has hold on to them dearly, each one having a story as to where, when and how he got them.

So on our recent trip, we thought to pass it on as "friendship bands." He gave them to the kids and the grownups he bonded with, played with and talked with. No offense to people he may have missed which is purely unintentional. This exercise was mainly to boost his social skills, be free to choose, and make new friends.

At the end of the trip, he may have lost all his Crazy Bandz but by passing them on, it gave him this connection to people on that side of the world.

The Hangover

It’s been a week since we got back for vacation. Sashimi was hit hardest with jetlag and hangover. Besides waking up at the wee hours asking for food, he’s been crying every morning when I drop him off at daycare. Today he whined from breakfast at home all the way to his classroom. He was squealing incessantly that I had to pump up the radio volume to the highest decibel I could tolerate. I thought the full blast will shush him, if not, to shut myself from his full blown tantrum. Sanity. It kinda worked actually. The airplane toy that we got him just for this reason went flying inside the car. With his shoes! It’s hard for the softy in me. Especially when you’d hear “I want to ride the jeepney!” in between the squeals. You’d understand how much our vacation meant to him. We were literally wrestling to remove his winter coat, hat & mittens at the daycare. It didn’t help that the teachers would come to me with heartfelt sympathy and say, “oh, you’ve been away too long, he must have enjoyed the time he has had with you.” At that point, tears welled up my own eyes =[

I know… sad.  And it's because of...

His cousins

Cars all he wants

People playing cars with him

Disneyland

Family

Extended family

Birthday

Nice birthday message for Mrs. Hotpot from my SIL

It is by chance that we are in Hong Kong on my birthday. We just booked this side trip to fall right in the middle of the 4 weeks of vacation.

It was raining hard. We just went to the Japanese restaurant right beside our hotel - Jika Udon.

Hub had the Beef Curry noodles which was very tasty.

I love Japanese curry, so I ordered Pork Curry Katsudon

The highlight of my birthday evening was a wedding proposal.

Awww!

Today

Today was our first day back to work and school since our vacation. My alarm was set for 6AM. I tuned in for traffic and weather forecast. Today’s a high of 6°Celcius. I plan the kids’ clothes for school. Coats checked. Gloves checked. Boots checked. Blanket for daycare checked. Indoor shoes checked.

As breakfast was being prepared, so is the bento. I was excited to use some of the bento tools I acquired from Daiso on my recent trip. I’ll blog about it later. This being Sushi’s first day back to school, I didn’t want to overwhelm so I made it simple.

Asparagus, cheese, apples, cheese pocket sandwich, more apples and animal biscuits

I dropped of Sashimi at daycare on the way to work. As expected it wasn’t easy for him. I haven’t heard him cry this loud in a while. I heard him trying to unlock the classroom door as I was walking out. It was heart wrenching.

As I drove by the airport to work, my office being right across it, I can’t help but rewind our trip back to when it started - the taxi ride to the airport. Except for going through the 1400+ emails that filled my inbox while I was away, it was an average day. At 2:30pm no matter how busy, I shut down my computer and leave so I can make it on time to pick up Sushi from school.

I would be in the kitchen clearing the remnants of breakfast and preparing dinner, while Sushi was having his afternoon snack and doing his my homework. Today, it’s Division.

There’s still pending chores from since we came back from the trip. There’s more to do when the rest of the boys are home. It’s a whirl with dinner, baths, until we get ready for bed.

This is my life. It’s demanding, most times exhausting, but it revolves around this small family I call mine. Welcome back home!

Airplane Meals

I love airplane meals. They're not always good, but when you're confined in a compact space for 16 hours or so, you gotta appreciate the little things.  Sushi and Sashimi had the children's meal, which come way ahead of everybody else's meal.  Good for the hungry parents =]. I am insipired by the bento-like presentation and the balanced diet they incorporate in the meal.  Inspiration for my own bento fixing.

Breakfast pancakes

Chicken nuggets and fries

Ham & egg muffin with hashed brown

Chicken patty with mashed potatoes

Omelette rice

Chicken Congee.  Mr. Hotpot is always torn between egg dishes and congee, so we'll pick either and share. Hahaha, what else to share from the very tiny serving?

Taiwan-style Porkchop on rice. This was unexpectedly good.

The kids sleeping pattern during the flight was erratic. Some meals were skipped and often times we were exchanging the cups to what we can finish for them or to leave untouched.

Pampered

I spent a quiet and relaxing 2 hours at my SIL's La Vie Nail Spa
2/F Victoria Towers, # 78 Timog Avenue corner Panay Avenue, QC

Facial care at my other SIL's Skin Anatomy in Greenhills
G/F Metrobank Bldg Ortigas Ave Cor Wilson Street, Greenhills

I had unfinished business with Facial Care Centre (Timog)

I was surprised of the new treatment they call "hair manicure" at Tony & Jackey's Korean salon.

Day SPA grew like weeds in the area, but Holiday SPA in QC is my best for Swedish massage with complimentary services.

Good to have the hub and other family members sitting the kids while I was at it =]

I`m Back

Will tell you about my trip in bits and pieces. Stay tuned.

Hello Kitty Boarding Lounge

5 hours layover at Taoyuan Airport in Taipei, where we spent most of our time in the Hello Kitty Boarding Pass Lounge. Everything is so cute.

Kitty is embroidered on every seat

The boys kept pushing Hello Kitty

Playground

Wall art

Playroom

Nothing. He just wants to pretend to bite the apple.

I called my brother from one of these phone booths.

Of course we have to eat nu ro mien (beef noodle soup) in Taiwan, even during stopovers.

Spicy Coconut Crabs

Mom makes sure this is my first meal when I go home, courtesy of Godging -her cook of 30 years.

And that's not all.

Sinful

Today's lunch - the sinful Chicken Club Burger - grilled chicken breast, bacon, and curly fries.  Photo was taken after I already nibbled through 1/3 of the curly fries as I took my 93 steps of stairs going up.

Please forgive me for I don't fry at home, let alone DEEP fry, and I don't buy pork bacon. My mantra is, if you don't make it at home, you can indulge elsewhere occasionally. And that's fine... right?

The sinful part is, I finished it all. Burp!