lundi, août 27, 2012

Hair cut ordeals

My 2 boys hate to have their hair cut. A2 used to be alright but as he gets older, he is like his brother. When I moved over to the new house, I did not know any hair cutter around so I called up one and made an appointment for A2. His hair was really messy. He cried very badly at the hair cutter's and the hair cutter was not able to do his job at all. A2 was moving his head around. At one point, I gave him apple sauce in order to calm him down but ended up having apple sauce all over my neck and hair as he struggled to be freed. That painful experience cost me 10€ and only a few strand of hair on the floor.
In Singapore, we really had to cut the boys hair for my brother's wedding. We brought them to the hair cutter which cost $3.80 each. However, it was a dread again for both. We managed to cut A1's hair after I threatened him that the wicked witch would come looking for boys with long hair. Yeah, we are really in the story of Hansel and Gretel so he is scared of the wicked witch. That did the trick. He cried but sat still throughout the hair cut. We bought him toys after for being a good boy. As for A2, he was too young to understand who the wicked witch was.
While visiting ViviCity shopping mall, we went into Toys 'R Us and there was a hair cutter for kids. I was determined to have his hair cut. Despite bribing him with sweets, videos and toys, A2 resisted. Ended up, he was screaming and rolling on the floor while the lady trimmed his hair. It was an expensive haircut but the job was done. Many people who shopped at Toys 'R Us stopped and looked at us. They might be thinking I was the wicked mom.
Well, at least we are now good for the next two months.

mercredi, août 22, 2012

Shortest SG trip ever

The family went to Singapore in the beginning of August. We were there for my brother's wedding which was on National Day. We spent several days in Singapore and after the wedding, the family and the kids' ah ma went to Bali for a week. We stayed in Singapore for a day before heading back home to France.

This time, I did not contact many friends as the stay in Singapore was too short. The kids took 4 days to get over their jetlag so as parents, we were just as tired.

Our new house is far from the airport (80+ km) unlike our old appartment which was just 30+km from Charles de Gaulle airport. We left the house many hours in advance just in case. On the way to the airport, we dropped Bao Bei at the pet hotel. We left her there and felt bad cos she had never stayed in one. 

We arrived at the airport 3 hours in advance and went to the boarding hall once it was opened. The boys were watching aeroplanes and after a while, they started to play with the chairs. They went over and under the armrest. It was really not easy travelling with young children.   
In Singapore, for the first few days, they slept at 8pm but it was their nap time as it was 2pm french time. They woke up at 11pm and then won't go to bed until 2 or 3am. Seb stayed up most nights with the kids. In the mornings, we went to take breakfast nearby and the boys enjoyed their fishball noodle soup. Once they even tried roti prata. While ah ma was doing her marketing buying the freshest fish for the boys porridge, the boys played with some old fashioned balls machine. We had to tell them we were out of coins before they would leave the machines. 
Last year, ah ma bought the boys two fishes which lasted a day. This time, she bought 2 small turtles for the boys. She promised to look after them once the boys went home. The boys had fun playing with the animals.
 They also had lots of fun playing at the playground. They were always asking to go to the park.
On my brother's wedding day, A1 did not want to have his photos taken. So for most family photos, he was absent. He was such a shy boy. We had hoped that he could be the ring bearer for the church wedding but it was just not possible. He was too young and too timid.
Time flies as usual and now we are back to our normal routine. We picked up Bao Bei once we landed and she was well though she had lost weight. As for the boys, they took only 2 days to get pass their jetlag.

The weather in France is almost or even hotter than in Singapore. There are patches of dry grass in the garden and lots of weeds. We will do gardening this weekend. With this good weather, it still feels like holiday. The boys played with their slide and pool in the garden for two hours yesterday.