Sawadee ka papa. How are you at home? Without mommy and us, you must be having a jolly good time huh? No need to take care us, no need to listen to mommy’s nagging, no need to iron our uniform, no need to kek hei so much and bla bla bla. Like mommy said, “Papa fong kam jor”.
We went visiting around, and spenting some time with both sides of our great grandparents. We went shopping too, and po po said she goes broke faster if we stay longer. LOL! Mommy “makes” us do some work books and reading some times, but kor kor and I enjoy rotting in front of the TV the most! So good la, no need to go to school for a month. We enjoy makan makan and playing with the toys too, but if only you can be here to buy us more toys!
I pick up another hobby, daddy. I wonder how the neighbors think about my music talent? Maybe you should send them some ear plugs.
As usual, kor kor likes to do all the stunt acts, and I’m always the victim. But then, don’t worry ya daddy? I will be strong…
Fighting is part of our daily activities here. Like you said, if we don’t move and just sit still quietly, we might be sick.
Anyway, don’t worry about us. Just miss us more. We miss you too.
My brother and I are only 2 years apart and we used to be very close when we were young. At good times, we would share our toys, talk to each other, and play together. But at bad times, we would fight and curse and say the worst thing to one another. Are we like most siblings? LOL!
Some times, when I look at my own kids, it brings back the memories between me and my brother. But as we grew up and lived apart, we were not as close as we were. Nonetheless, we still catch up with one another, once in a while.
But after we moved to Bangkok, we hardly meet or talk. He’s super busy with his work, and I don’t call him much as I know him too well, he will only answer if “necessary”. LOL!
We had a misunderstanding recently, but I guess it’s sorted out now. At least I know that he called my uncle to ask about my grandpa, if not, I will be really p*ssed with him. He said he’s super busy again, so I will try to understand that.
For me, when there is a “misunderstanding or conflict”, it’s best to talk it out. If not, things will get worse, even if it’s cooled off for too long.
 I’m using the wireless at my grandpa’s house to go online now to check my mailbox, see my farm and also do some cari makan assignment. I haven’t figured out if I need to subsribe a line in Penang or just live without broadband for weeks? I wonder if I can survive this…
Another reason why we need the line is I plan to let the kids to chat with their daddy online via webcam. It’s just Day 1, and hubby has been calling us a few times! Jialat loh, if he keeps calling like this, he needs to sell more industrial equipment to pay the bills! LOL!
But why all the TM lines need to subsribe a minimum of 12 months? I’m only back for a month woh…such a waste la…
 We are back to home sweet home Malaysia, and I’m glad that the kids were behaving well, despite the fact that they woke up in the wee morning.
Our great grandfather
The first thing we did was to pay my grandpa a visit. Most of my close friends and relatives already know that the main reason we are back is to see my aging grandpa. He has been longing to see us, and he’s not in a good condition for months. The only person who doesn’t visit him is my own brother! Kek sei. But then, whatever…Not that I didn’t inform my SIL or my mom didn’t call him. We did all we can, if one doesn’t bother about a family member, let it be la.
I’m glad to see that my grandpa managed to sit up and talk to us today. My mom said he’s been “semi conscious” mostly, but today, he’s changed his patch (for med) and he’s feeling much better. He’s so happy to see the kids, despite that they are so noisy.
I guess I know how to plan out our stay here for a month. If I have time, I want to see a dentist too. Ah…I hate to see a dentist, even if there are good reviews about any orange nj cosmetic dentist, I still dread the idea of visiting one!
 I know that I’ve been blogging a lot about school hunting, so if you are bored with it, please skip reading this post.
For the past months, I have been looking for schools and most of the schools are found online and through expatriate friends’ recommendation. Justin is in K2 now, and I hope that he can go for K3 in the same syllabus as in elementary school so that it’s easier for him to cope with the new syllabus and school environment later. He’s still studying in Thai syllabus, and even if he knows some phonic, but he can’t read much yet. I don’t think he can read the books in Grade 1 or Year 1, unless we enroll him to English syllabus next year.
So, hubby and I went for school hunting again. I need to drag hubby along because he’s the driver, and main financial controller of the kids school fees. I could easily pick an international school, but hubby might choke to death when he sees the bills. LOL! Generally, you can’t except anything lower than RM30K per year per kid, so I’m doing my best to find the “best” deal and most affordable school we can find. By having hubby coming along, he can see for himself if the school is well facilitated and if fee structure is not scaring him off to the nearest EXIT SIGNS.
I was surprised that I’ve never came across this school, which is situated at a town nearby. We might not even have to move to a new home, if our kids join this school. Besides that, there are a lot of new housing areas in this neighborhood so it’s easier for us to get a new house in the future, and cut down on traveling time.
What I really like about this school is all the main teachers are native English speakers with Thai teachers as assistants. So, the kids can learn both languages, but mainly in US syllabus. That means we pay one semester lesser than UK syllabus! So, the school fee is cheaper to us.
The school is not big, and there are a few exit signs and mini signs showing the different sections of the school. The new school block is under construction now, and it will be ready by next year. In general, even if you don’t look at the exit sign, you won’t get lost. The only disadvantage is the school does not have a swimming pool, unlike most schools I’ve visited. Most schools here encourage water play or conduct swimming lessons, so I guess our kids will have to attend private swimming class later, if they are joining this school.
The school is run by a Thai family and a church. At first, hubby was against the idea of sending the kids to a Christian school as he wants them to be raised as Buddhists. But then, no big deal la!!! A school is just a school, even if the kids have Bible study once in a while, I’m totally cool with it. In fact, it’s due to the fact that it’s a Christian school, that’s why the school fee is slightly lower than most international schools. I’m more concerned about the money issue as we need to spend way a lot of money on education!
To put everything in a nutshell, I think I’ve found the school for Justin.
 My kids are very excited about flying back home and they have been talking about this for weeks. Isabelle even packed some of her clothes in her bag since last week, and she keeps telling her teacher that she’s going on the plane again. LOL!
My kids will have a month of term break, but we will spend the holiday in Malaysia. Hubby is too busy to go back with us, so we didn’t plan for any vacation this time. Frankly, the main reason why we fly back this time is to see my grandpa.
Furthermore, we can’t afford to go for any fancy holiday abroad yet, especially if we can’t figure out how to maintain the kids’ private school fees until they graduate high school. But hubby is working hard on this, so let’s see how he can manage his business and make more money in the future.
So, I can only dream of having a nice nile cruise vacation in donkey years. Hubby and I haven’t been on a cruise trip together, how sad huh? We used to check out the cruise holidays when we were dating, but I wonder why we could never have one? Maybe it was due to work commitment, or we chose other holiday destinations during that period of time.
Since we have kids now, we have to choose our holiday destination that fits all of us. If my parents are coming along, I would pick anyone of those china holidays because I know that my dad has always wanted to go to China. Too bad my mom hates to walk, that’s why my dad keeps postponing his holiday plan. LOL! My mom prefers shopping in air-conditioned shopping malls than going sightseeing at historical tourist spots! Now, you know where I got my shopping gene from?
Anyway, I know that the kids and I will have a good time in Penang, even if we are not going for vacation. Feasting on our favorite hawker food and visiting our close family members and friends are top in our list on this trip.
 To my fellow friends and family back home, Selamat Hari Raya and enjoy your holiday!
I’m not sure if we are going for any buka rumah party this weekend, as my indo friend did mention something to me previously, but we didn’t confirm the celebration with her for weeks. Anyway, do enjoy your kuih raya, ketupat, curry, and all those nice delicacies! And hopefully, none of my friends need colon cleanse later after the holiday. LOL!
 I had a great time meeting an old friend here in Bangkok last night, and hubby helped me to watch the kids. I took the cab to the city since I hate driving in the heavy traffic, and luckily, I managed to grab a cab after asking for 3 taxis! Most of the taxis won’t go into the city center after 4.30pm due to the heavy traffic. Maybe I should try calling the taxi call center services next time, if there is a next time! This is the first time I went out on my own to the city at night, after we moved here.
By 9pm, hubby called me and said that he would be picking me up, and I heard Isabelle whining in the background.
Isabelle: Mommy, why you don’t come back?
Me: Mommy will be back in a while. You follow papa first. Ask papa to make milk for you.
Isabelle: *shouting* Papa, make my milk! Mommy, you come back or not?
Me: LOL! Sure I’ll come back la, Belle.
She’s so insecure that I was not back by bedtime. Thus, hubby changed the kids in pajamas and came to pick me up. Both of them slept in the car and didn’t wake up until the morning.
At breakfast, Justin and I had this conversation:
Justin: Mommy, yesterday you went gai gai ah?
Me: Ya, I went out with a friend. Next time mommy also go out like this ok? You stay at home with papa.
Justin: No, next time you go gai gai, you must bring me.
Me: But when papa goes out, you stay at home with mommy mah. So when I go out, you stay at home with papa la.
Justin: Cannot. I want you to stay at home with me. If you go out, I must follow.
Me: O.o *there goes my freedom*
Anyway, hubby said both of them were very good last night until Isabelle started looking for me when she’s sleepy. She still needs me to tug her in, and hubby can’t do this job yet.
So, will last night be my one and only mommy’s night out in Bangkok? Let’s see how…
Our kids’ preschool holds sports day annually, but this year, their school accepted the invitation of participating in a joined sports day with other kindergartens. The event was held at the army base in the city, and there were a total of 7 kindergartens involved.
Since the school had only received the invitation 2 weeks ago, the children had to go for “intensive training”. Justin took part in kiddie football, so he had been practicing hard in the sun for 2 weeks! Besides that, Isabelle was picked as one of the cheerleaders, so she went for rehearsal too.
As for me, I was busy attending 2 grumpy and exhausted kids for 2 weeks! They were very tired everyday, but there wasn’t much we can do to help except encouraging the kids and promised some rewards.
So, this morning, I woke up very early to prepare their bentos, and then busy getting Isabelle ready. I put some makeup on her face and she was so happy about it. LOL! Such a vainpot…
We reached school just in time and the kids boarded the coach and school van immediately. We followed the bus to the destination as hubby was not too sure about its location. As soon as we reached there, the teachers were busy with the kids again.
Isabelle’s tutu, made from plastic bags!
Isabelle was given some touching up.
She’s so happy to have makeup on her face! And the mommy is a bit worried on how to hide her makeup bag from her girl.
After that, the kids got ready for the march in parade.
The excited kor kor in his giraffe cap. LOL!
Each kindergarten has students to hold the school name and their school flags.
Marching in…
I kaypoh and snapped a few photos of other teams too.
The kiddie band from the host. There are a kindergarten and primary school at the army base.
Pretty girls from another school.
Cute costumes from other kindy
Little fairies!
2 cute handsome boys in suits….under the hot sun. LOL!
The host team with their own football jersey!
All the participating schools.
Throughout my school years, I haven’t seen anything as “tai chan cheong” as this.
There were kids passing the fire torch too!!! Just like a mini Olympic. LOL!
After the speeches and opening ceremony, all the kids marched to the sides of the field and the games started.
Of coz, cheerleaders started “working”.
The cheerleaders from the host team was so amazing!
They basically danced from morning until afternoon, with just a short break in between. What a great stamina for girls below 6 years old!
Our kids’ school is not so well prepared for the day. The cheerleaders got tired pretty fast. LOL!
Let’s take a break and makan first!
Here’s the mommy who’s hiding in the shade. I am so BURNT now.
Justin’s waiting for his game, and complained about how dirty his shoes were.
I run I run I run run run…and fill the water very carefully…
Bicycle race
Since there were a lot of children involved, the games dragged quite long hours. By noon, the kids were served lunch and most of them were tired and restless.
The cheerleader almost fell asleep standing with her pom pom. LOL!
The boys played among themselves while waiting for their turns.
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My gal with her friends.
I lost count of the number of ice-creams she took that day…check out how dirty her white tee is! But then, if she’s not eating, she would be…
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Falling asleep soon…
Justin still had another game to go, so we couldn’t leave early. He’s been practicing hard for the kiddie football for 2 weeks, so he was eager to go down to the field.
The footballers from the host were amazing, considering that they are all below 6 years old.
There were 3 football matches, and our team was the last to play.
The cheerleaders had to “work” at half time. LOL!
The pro kiddie cheerleaders. I can’t even dance like that at that age.
But before Justin’s team could play, there was a heavy downpour. Thus, the game was delayed. The other teams were still playing in the rain!!! The teachers asked if we would like our kids to play in the rain, and I said no. Hubby wanted Justin to take part in the football, but I disagreed. He was very tired, and it’s way past his nap time. Besides that, he said he’s too sleepy. Thus, the last teams only picked a few kids for penalty kick to decide the score. We left the field by then as both kids were totally worn out.
In short, in was a fun day, but I hate the tan I got! I’m so dark now. Justin also looks like a pure Thai boy after all the training. LOL!
The school principal said the kids were not well prepared for such a big event, so next year, they will train the kids earlier. After their first inter-kindy sports day, they have a better idea how to train the kids. I’m not sure if Justin will still be here for K3, but I surely hope that Isabelle will be picked as cheerleader again.
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