Sunday is gai gai day, don’t you agree?

We went to Funarium yesterday because the kids NEED to play and mommy had a dSLR class with Aaron. It’s just a short briefing, but since both of us have kids, Funarium is a great rendezvous. Hey, adults can play too, and by climbing through all the tunnel chasing after your kids, you might get as much work out as running on elliptical.

Papa brought us to Funarium again! Yippie!

We arrived early, so the kids started playing as soon as we got here.

Bye mommy, I’m going in the tunnel slide.

As soon as Aaron got here, we went to the parents room for the class. So, hubby played with the kids, while Aaron’s kids accompanied by their mommy Emily. Occasionally, my kids came to kacau looking for mommy, and when I said that I can’t join them, Isabelle would give me this look…

Moody…

Actually, our kids are very familiar with this place already, so they can basically run and play around wherever they please. The more we visit Funarium, the more FREEDOM hubb and I have. Frankly, we can just sit there and relax because the kids can easily make friends with others. They even know how to order their food, by showing their bar code straps, it’s easy peasy for them la….

My class ended by 1pm, and after a quick lunch, I went to join the kids.

My gal’s begging for sweets. She’s very tired of playing, and needed some sweet booster. LOL!

No sweets are sold at Funarium, so they had to settle with jelly and cupcake.

Hubby said they had already taken a heavy lunch!!! But kids, they get hungry easily when they play a lot. Of course, I got busy trying out different setting with my camera after the briefing. Frankly, I got very blur after the class. LOL! I guess I’m not good at photography, as long as I can shoot whatever I need, it’s good enough for me. Really low standard…:P

So, what happened next after a food attack? Play again loh….

You’ve just got to try the slide!

Isabelle is soooo into sand play.

Mommy’s snapping through the glass so that she could still enjoy the air-conditioning.

While the kids were playing…hubby ZZzz….LOL!

Besides all the regular play, the kids tried something new on Sunday. It’s the first time they tried the roller blades and I’m surprised that Justin picked up rather fast.

Trying to balance himself while holding on to the net.

He refused to let me hold him and wanted to do this on his own.

After 15 minutes or so, he’s confident enough to let go and balance and “walk” in small steps.

Occasionally, he fell…

And got up…

And fell and got up again…

I’d lost count of the number of times he fell, and he rejected my help. He wanted to do this on his own…And about 45 minutes later, our little boy was confidently “gliding” slowly around the track.

Bravo Justin!

He even agreed on mommy leaving the track, but asked me to order him some food. LOL! He said he had no more energy, and he needed to eat. Then, he would come back to practice again.

I love to see my kids eat.

But too bad, the roller blades are only allowed for one and a half hour, before the track is open for bicycles again. So, maybe we should come here soon so that Justin can practice more before we get him his roller blades.

As for Isabelle, hubby helped her a lot, but she only tried for 10 minutes or so.

Isabelle didn’t manage to balance herself, so she gave up.

So, what did we get after a fun day at Funarium? It’s 2 kids who slept all the way back home…

 

P/S: Thanks Tang!

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.

 

 
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…

 

 
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.

We started reading to Justin when he was about 3 months old. Then, he liked Peter and Jane book 1A when he’s slightly older and I had to repeat the same book for close to an hour every night for a few months! Not to mention, he liked the same book at nap time too! That’s his favorite book until Isabelle came along.

Isabelle has a different preference for books. She likes big books with colorful pictures. Since she was a baby, she likes us to ask her “where is xxx” and she will point to the objects.

It’s quite boring to me after repeating the same books over and over again for 2 kids who are taking their turns every night, but then, I’m glad that they love books. Some day, they will be like other kids who love PS3 or computer games, but I really hope that reading will be one of their hobbies.

Now that they are older, I SET only 2 books for each kid. They can pick any book of their choice for bedtime reading, but only limited to 2 books. The main reason is, Justin’s books are getting thicker with more words, and by the time I finish his books, my throat will be all dry!

Hubby will help to read to Justin while I read to Isabelle, but some times, Justin prefers mommy to do all the reading. If I’m reading, both of them can share a total of 4 books and I will get a sore throat in no time. LOL!

Since hubby is not around these few days, the kids sleep in my room on an extra bed. This is what they do every night…

They get some of their favorite books from their playroom and arrange them nicely on my bed. If I’m too busy getting changed or preparing their milk, they will help themselves with the books first. Isabelle is definitely looking at the pictures, but Justin can read some words from a few Dr Suess books already. Nonetheless, he still loves to look at the pictures.

Justin’s reading the book he got from school library.

The kids lend books from their school library almost everyday. If so, I only permit them to pick one book each from their own collection. Mommy only reads 4 books before bedtime! LOL! I know, I’m so lazy. I should not permit the number of books but then, if I don’t, it’s like never ending reading until dunno what time!

So, I hope that Justin can read by himself in a few years, then I can “retire” a bit. LOL! By then, we will start teaching them Chinese. Everyone’s complaining that my kids can’t speak Chinese!!!

Hubby took part in Futsal of ASSEAY Thailand’s ASEAN + Community Sport Day, which was held yesterday at Grandsport Park, Navamin Road, bangkok. All of us went along and the kids thought they would get goodie bags and junks just like the games at Embassy of Malaysia. But too bad, they didn’t get what they had expected. LOL!

We are going for games izzit? Is there any goodie bag with lollipop?

 

Everyone’s temperature was taken to ensure that you may not have H1N1. It’s just a precaution measurement which is carried out in some public places now.

 

Then, the kids realized that only daddy’s playing but they were here to watch. LOL!

Hubby’s in Team A Futsal. He played for a while.

 

As soon as daddy got off the game, the kids offered him a drink.

 

Actually, the kids were not bored at all.

Watching the games with daddy.

 

Watching the cheerleader dance.

 

A Vietnam aunty gave our kids some pom pom.

And Isabelle went to join the cheerleaders. LOL! Our little cheerleader-wannabe.

 

The kids made friends with an Indonesian family with 3 children.

 

The eldest boy led the kids to play under the bench! LOL!

 

See the monkey girl?

 

The boys were busy playing among themselves.

 

At last, their long waited JUNKS! Everyone was given Lays potato chips. And check out my gal’s dirty knees! Hubby just washed their hands but forgot about their knees. LOL!

 

Daddy took part in 11-legged run too.

 

Hub’s Malaysian friends in Bangkok. They are going for golf this Saturday.

 

I have more photos in Facebook, and if you are interested to know more about the event, click here.

We have been pretty busy the past weekends. Besides that usual shopping and makan makan, we brought the kids for Transformer 2 and Ice Age 3 in 3D digital. I guess we won’t be bringing them to watch Harry Porter as Isabelle might be horrified by the movie.

Last Saturday, we joined the Merdeka Games 2009 which was held at the Embassy of Malaysia, Bangkok. The games started at 8.30am, but we arrived late as our kids are too young for coloring contest anyway.

Merdeka Day Sports Carnival 2009

 

Isabelle’s checking her goodie bag upon arrival.

 

I was rather bored as I don’t know anyone there. But our kids seemed to enjoy the games, and not to mention, the JUNKS in their goodie bags. LOL!

Give me my lollipop!

 

Malaysian expats who came for the games.

 

Most of them are Malays, but I’m glad some of the kids speak in Thai.

 

That’s why our kids have no communication problem with other children and they made some new friends.

 

Kita, anak Malaysia, pegang Jalur Gemilang, but cakap Thai.

 

Our kids are too young for most of the games, so they only joined the musical chair and Justin joined 3 legged run with daddy.

Musical chair.

 

They just wanted to stick together, so when Isabelle was out from the game, Justin quit voluntarily as well.

 

3 legged run, can you spot Justin? LOL!

 

 But then, mommy was not too bored by the end of the day as she managed to snap a lot of photos.

Check out my balloons mommy!

 

Isabelle likes the balloons. She asked the helpers to take down the decorative balloons for her. LOL!

 

If you are interested to see more photos, check out my Facebook.

After the games, we dropped by Siam Paragon for our lunch, and mommy wanted to grab some books from Kinokuniya.

The kids sure had a good appetite!

 

And they were very tired. Justin couldn’t help but lying down after his meal.

 

Not only the kids, I was very tired too. I think if I have to be so occupied everyday, I won’t need any weight losss supplements also I can lose some weight! If you think we were heading home after our trip to Siam Paragon, you are wrong!

Hubby suggested that we dropped by Angel Tomorrow to grab some books for the kids, and so off we went again.

So, we didn’t go anywhere yesterday. Everyone was so tired and lazy after a long and fun filled Saturday.

Justin wanted to stick to the TV and be a book worm. Those are the books we bought from Angel Tomorrow, which mommy arranged nicely for her camera. LOL!

 

Isabelle just wanted to paint and watch TV too.

 

Frankly, I’m still yet to recover from that hectic Saturday. But this weekend is going to be another busy weekend for us. So in the mean time, let us all rest as much as possible first.

As promised, hubby brought the kids to Funarium after our lunch at Kopitiam. Our kids love Funarium, and it’s not hard to see why…

Not only little kids, big kids can have fun too. LOL!

 

I received some emails about the entrance fee of Funarium, so here it is:

 

According to Simon, the owner of Funarium, the two hours rule is only applicable when the playground is too crowded with kids. So far, we were allowed to have fun for as long as we pleased.

For those parents who have concern about H1N1 as all of us are aware of how badly it’s spreading here now, check out Funarium’s health and safety policy:

 

And I must say, the cleaners do a good job in wiping every corner of the playground. I saw some of them climbing up to the top tunnels to wipe the nets! And my kids cleaned their hands at the gel dispenser from time to time to keep their hands clean.

This time, hubby and I didn’t play much with our kids because…

They made some friends here!

 

Our active kids are quite good at making friends now as they can speak Thai and English, so it’s nice to see them getting socially active. Hubby and I just sat by the side, talking and mumbling why we didn’t bring along our Mp3 players and laptops as WiFi is available here!

I shall let the photos do all the talking ya?

The kids love the slide! (Daddy likes it too. LOL!)

 

Tarzan girl and Tarzan boy.

 

This time, my kids followed their friends for water play…

 

And sand play.

 

 

Water + Sand = Messy dress + More work for mommy…

 

Hubby said they should install an air blower or something for the kids to blow off the sand before coming into the indoor section again. I think I will pack a set of changing clothes next time as Isabelle was very very wet and sandy!

The kids took a break of having snacks together…

 

And another round of fries.

 

They really used up a lot of energy here! And we left Funarium with 2 super tired and extra grumpy kids. LOL! But anyway, it’s always nice to come to Funarium.

Thanks for bring us here again daddy! Happy Father’s Day, Daddy!

 

Next time, I hope that our kids will spend some time in the art and craft room.

So far, they haven’t been in there as they were too occupied with playing!

 Oops, I’m showing my double chin.

 

Our little girl is going for her first field trip today, and they will visit the dinosaur museum in the city. I tried to Google for the name of the place, but I can’t find it. I guess it’s written in their agenda, but hubby and I can’t read the name in Thai.

I thought we were late this morning, but her class had not queue up for the trip yet. So, I didn’t manage to snap a photo of her boarding on the school van.

Have to stand straight to look nicer in the pic. LOL!

 

She’s very excited about this, and I hope that she will have an enjoyable trip today. She’s a big fan of dinosaur too, just like Justin. Thus, I guess she will benefit a lot after a trip to the museum. I really like the way they learn, and there should be 3 field trips in a school year. The trips are organized based on their learning schemes. Of course, I fixed her a simple Hello Kitty bento, which is one of her favorite characters.

Justin will be going for his field trip on Friday, but he’s not going to the museum. He’s going to visit a famous temple. Mmm…I wonder why?

I know myself very well that I can’t homeschool my kids seriously, but I will try my best to coach them on their work, except on Thai subject.

Every school night, the kids and I will spend some time on English, Maths, maze or coloring. I bought some workbooks from Malaysia last time, but it’s only now that both kids are showing interests in completing the books. I’m glad that Isabelle is interested in writing too, even if her attention span is rather short and she will run off to play after a few minutes. She prefers to color the worksheets, or circle the right answer, instead of writing the same letter repetitively. I guess it’s too boring for her.

Justin said that it’s “mommy’s class” at home, and I’m the teacher, while they are the students. LOL! Some times, Isabelle will be the teacher, when she’s playful and I will be the one “doing the work” or reading out load with her. I get a better idea on how she learns at school too, as she’s imitating her teachers. LOL!

As for Justin, I’m glad that he has a better concept on addition and phonics now. Their school syllabus is quite slow, as comparing to what they will learn back home. But if my kids enjoy learning more than their school work, I shall help them with it.

After doing their work for about 15 – 30 minutes, it’s play time with daddy, and that’s the reward for doing their work well. LOL! Now you know another reason why hubby lost a lot of weight even without Kettlebell since we moved here huh? He’s too busy playing with the kids!

Mommy is not the only one who likes to spend quality time with the kids, daddy likes to have some time with the kids too. Most of the time, he’s the one who brings the kids to the swimming pool, the field and also the driving range. I seldom join these activities in the evenings as I will be busy preparing dinner. But yesterday, I had some time to join the kids and hubby at the nearby golf range, and I could see how much my kids enjoy whacking the balls with daddy.

Daddy helped Justin with his glove.

 

We can’t find a glove for Isabelle yet, her hand is too small for the smallest size!

Papa said try to aim at 50m marker…So, let me address first…

 

With Sasha’s help (thanks Sasha!), I managed to do my first animation with PS and here’s how Justin hit the golf ball.

 Justin hopes that he can join daddy at golf course one day, when he is older and ready for it.

 Pardon my poor quality animation ya?

Hubby said this swing not nice woh…But I still wanna post. LOL!

 

Right now, Justin only has an iron, and he learns putting at home with hubby’s putting mat. As for Isabelle, she’s more like playing hockey, instead of swinging the iron. LOL!

As long as I can hit the ball, I’m good enough liao. LOL!

 

Justin’s iron is too heavy for her, and she’s not tall enough for the smallest kiddie golf set too.

Very heavy la…

 

Papa, you help me please.

 

All this time, I was pretty worried that my kids will be running around at driving range and they might endanger themselves when the place is packed with golfers swinging their golf clubs. But after yesterday, I have a clearer picture that they do know their boundaries, and they really like to learn the game. No wonder daddy likes to bring the kids to the driving range.