Week 176 and Week 88.5

Yay - we get to stay (for now!).  We are here in Macau, Matt and I are doing our own things, and things take time to resolve if you do (actually true if you don't too).  We are not alone in having to go to and from Macau as our immigration status is sorted.  Matt of course thinks we are crazy as we moved here basically with no work for either of us - I mean who does that really?  I know people who will always have a job - get a job and then quit first job sort of thing - but we are indeed crazy for just up and moving to another country.  So, as I was saying, our status is in process and we hired a lawyer this week so we can stay till the end of October - yay!  Because uprooting is a splendid idea until you add kids and schooling and their general stability into the mix.  Well, at least we are all crazy together.

We are in the process of testing out pools (which I mentioned before) - I think we will end up at the Westin because there is golf there, and this is a golfer's town (and Matt is a golfer).  Plus there is tons of green space and pools and playgrounds.  It is like going on holiday without leaving home. 


The girls have a friend - Arian.  He is our neighbor who goes to Charlotte's school.  The kids and Imee and Daisy (his nanny) all ride the bus together.  Arian kisses Sophia goodbye when he goes into the classroom.  Nobody told him to.

I had a parenting win not too long ago.  Charlotte was inconsolable because she did not want to listen to Gangnam Style when Arian was over one morning.  Just a sloppy, grumpy mess.  So I took her to her room, let her cry out her angst (and tried not to be undone by it) and told her that she does not get to act that way when friends are over.  She was consolable and ok with it.  Yay!  If only I could be this patient all the time!

No major bumps or bruises or lost teeth this week.  We have finally met up with Caleb and Cooper - Melanie and Tom are long time friends who have had kids at the same time we have.  Caleb and Charlotte even share the exact same birthdate!

Sophia unhappy.  She does these backwards bends writhing in unhappiness.  She also bumps her head on walls.  I hope this is a short phase:

Testing out the slide at the Westin - made even more exciting by a slanted floor:

Cooper!

We went with Uncle David to the Macau Tower for dim sum - the best in Macau I think so far!  We blowed bubbles afterwards.

We had a BBQ with Cooper and Caleb at our house.  Except our BBQ did not work.  So it was Matt as stove master (not pictured here):

Now both girls are eating in high chairs - much more manageable!

The girls want to read to Arian:

Sophia is nodding "Yeah" here:

Week 174 and Week 87.5 - Typhoon 8!

Everyone is home today as there is a typhoon!  Stay inside!  Close the windows!  Actually it is not that bad (e.g. rainy with limited visibility and windy) but better to be safe than sorry I guess.  So Matt and I are trying to get some work done while the kids are home - I am not sure if there is a greater recipe for non productivity.  I think the typhoon will be a three soon so we can go about our day again.

Janice and Jason met us for dim sum on Sunday - so kind of them for making that trek from the mainland and taking us to lunch!  We ate at Yum Cha at the Sheraton, where Charlotte subsequently left her Mickey Mouse bag hanging in the men's toilet, never to be seen again.  She does not seem super distraught about it - unlike me.  I hope that she maintains her sunnier demeanor about these kinds of things - my sort of useless melancholy is not a trait I hope to pass on to her.

We also went to the public pool on Saturday and got ice creams later.  The pools are ok but just sort of crowded for my taste (plus sometimes there is no paper in the toilets and no real place to put your stuff).  We are investigating joining a swimming pool nearby.

Charlotte is in the midst of a growth spurt-  she is hungry all the time.  She says she is SO hungry.  Matt just hopes that her feet grow so she does not have the smallest feet in her class (I of course like to use the word dainty). 

Sophia continues on her dangerous toddler phase as she likes to dance and spin in circles.  Yesterday she spun so much that she fell on her chin - where she has a nice bruise today.

I am not sure when Charlotte will start sleeping on her own again but I welcome the time when it happens.  She always needs to fall asleep with someone and then once she wakes up in the middle of the night and realizes she is alone she makes her way into our room (and now our day bed - not our bed which is a great space relief).

Sophia tries on high heels:

We have reinstated high chair eating.  As it is difficult to feed our monkey otherwise:

Sophia wanted to wear these goggles that we have never gotten her sister to wear even once:

Post swim ice cream:

 

Dim sum.  Before the lost bag episode:

Matt took Sophia on a bike ride on Sunday:

Char kind of models the view:

Creative Lightroom liberties here:

Here is a great video that Imee took of Charlotte using one of those auntie exercise machines in front of our apartment building:

Week 173 and Week 86.5 - Dentist and school

Sorry again for the late post - I am doing a bit of consulting work these days and my schedule is a bit busier than before.  So here I am on a Sunday morning trying to get this post in before Sophia gets up - she is a champ as it is almost nine in the morning.

We took Sophia to the dentist - luckily her tooth is ok and the dentist filed it away so it would not be so sharp at the edge.  That was a disaster for her - think crying till the cows come home - but when it was over she was fine and was rewarded with packaged cookies (I have never before been to a dentist that gave out sugary packaged cookies).  I have adjusted to her new smile.  Albeit reluctantly.

We went to North over the weekend - my new favorite non busy Chinese food place.  David Schubach met us - and Sophia was much more cooperative than when we were there before.

We went to Hong Kong on Monday and bought Char an ASUS mini tablet.  Buying a piece of electronic equipment at the Wanchai Computer Market is not recommended with a rambunctious toddler in tow (this time Sophia).  I was rather exhausted once we got back to Macau that day.

Charlotte started IEC on Monday - I am not sure that she likes it as she tells me she has cried and Imee says she has cried this week.  I don't remember much crying in her old school but maybe she was just not articulating well then.  She also had an interview with TIS (The International School here) and got in - luckily the principal did not ding her for picking her nose throughout the interview.

Sophia is talking more and more - she came into the bathroom as I was taking a shower and she said, "Mommy!  Mommy!  Get out!"

Charlotte keeps telling us to "Kwai Kwai Leh" - or hurry up in Mandarin.

Ok - on with the pictures!

Happier moment at the dentist:

Our weekly tradition of naked spaghetti!

Big sister feeds little sister - anything for an ice cream treat later!

Watching noodles being made at North!

 Happy as a clam at the Grand Canal Shoppes with a balloon and an apple:

Window shopping:

En route to Hong Kong - sharing a seat:

MTR Ride!