Daily Routine

Ever since school started, both boys sleep at 20.30. They used to sleep at about 21.30. Gabby has to wake up very early at 6am. Poor boy usually by 8pm he`s exhausted. So, we`ve roughly settled into our new schedule pretty alright but it`s still a rush in the mornings especially since the school bus doesn`t wait if you`re not there.

So, here`s our daily schedule:

6.00
Mummy wakes up and prepares herself

06.15
Gabby wakes up
Eats a quick breakfast
Go potty
Change clothes

07.00
Lucas wakes up
Change clothes

07.20
Both boys have to be ready to walk out the door to get to Gabby`s bus stop up a hill (more on that below)

07.40
Gabby`s school bus arrives

07.50
Mummy & Lucas go back home
Lucas eats breakfast
Watches TV for awhile and play
Slips on school shorts and smock

08.35
Get into car to go to kindy about 4.5km away but morning traffic is sometimes bothersome

09.00
Reach kindy and Mummy drops him off

11.30 (1st week); 14.00 (2nd week onwards)
Fetch Lucas

14.25
Fetch Gabby

*Mon & Fri
15.00 both boys go for English class till 17.00

*Wednesdays (twice a month)
Boys have swimming lessons at 16.00 till 17.00

*Thursdays
Gabby has Day Service (in a special kids club) from 15.00 to 18.00


For the 1st week, Lucas` kindy ends at 11.30am so that kids can slowly adjust to being away from Mummy (blehh)
So Lucas & I have been eating happy lunches together while we wait for Gabby.
Gabby`s school bus reaches at 14.25 Mon,Tues, Thurs & Fri. On Wednesdays it reaches at 15.20

So far just for this week alone, it was hard, next week will be HARDER coz i have to pack Lucas` bento since school will go back to ending at 14.00 for the rest of the term. Urghhh

And since Terry has told me that for every month he is in Japan, he will go off for 14-16 days to New Zealand/KL. Because he wants to indulge in trying a new market otherwise he will get bored.

To say it`s been a frustrating week is an understatement. The amount of paperwork is incredible. The painstaking translation process is excruciating. I have to `snap a pic of the document` then bring into google translate and slowly read it and try to understand the mumble jumble that it translated in English as not everything is accurate. I think the first 2 days i really wanted to bury my head and cry. Plus Gabby`s school documents, it takes me nearly 1.5 to 2 hours each night.

Then, there was once i stayed too late into Lucas` kindy PTA and was late for Gabby`s bus for 7 minutes. The driver looked at me in disdain. I wanted to curl up. I wanted to just quit this whole Japanese school thingy. Why do i have to take this hard route, why not just go into International school. I probably will excel in that environment. At 40, am i really supposed to try and just suck it up and take this hard route? I don`t know. I really don`t.

Okay, so about the hill stuff. Our apartment is at the bottom of this slope. Up this slope is Gabby`s bus stop.

Now, you think it`s pretty harmless right? Just a small slope? Hah! Wait till you push the stroller, with Gabby in it and Lucas holding on to it!! Dead weight! No joke. By the time i got to the middle I`m ready to collapse. I know I`m not the fittest person but damned, it`s torture. Everyday i have to do this twice, another time at pick up. Only that Gabby`s not in it, just Lucas...urghhh

Of course i can drive, but then I`d have to lug both kids up the car, park at coin parking, pay 200yen, bring both kids down, lug one kid back up to the car and go home. So, unless it`s raining i don`t think this is easier.

End of first week, i foresee still many documents incoming, many more PTA meetings. here goes my free time.

Hello misery....

Entrance Ceremony for Gabriel`s Elementary School

Gabby has been my main worry. My worry is that...he doesn`t seem to worry at all!! ahahhahahah. For him, this year is a big year too. Elementary 1...geez where did the time go? And he has to take the school bus to school as it`s a bit too far for me to do a daily send and pick-up, while being on time to pick Lucas too. Thankfully, the special school has a school bus. Both Terry & I of course worried about his safety, but i think, he should be in good hands, after what i saw yesterday when i sat the bus with him.

He had his entrance ceremony on April 9th Monday. But i tell you this was one of the hardest days for me. Sweet as in he`s a big boy now, and yet it was a shock for me. I wasn`t prepared. When we all entered the big hall, everyone was there. All the parents and new students. It was noisy. There was screaming, whining...running. For a moment i just stared and stood still. Reality that he`s in a special school. This is his school for the next 6 years. Don`t get me wrong, i have nothing against special schools or special kids, it`s just how i felt for the first time being in a huge school with many many special kids.

I thought, did i make a mistake? Should we have fought for Gabby to have gone to a normal Japanese school? Would he copy and learn the behaviours of other special kids? What have we done? Would he have been able to learn more at a normal school? For that moment i wanted to cry and leave the hall.

But now, after i had time to reflect, i sort of knew we probably made the right decision. Either way, I would still be worried sick. With his curious and friendly nature, he would probably get pushed and bullied in a normal school. At least i know here he would have experienced teachers to look out for him and slowly let him learn at his own pace.

Lunch in school starts today!!! Yayy!!! I do not have to make bento for him everyday now. Only for Lucas. I am eager to see what he eats and how the teachers are going to make him eat veggies.

So, his bus arrives at 7.40am everyday, and on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays he arrives back at 14.25. Wednesdays he arrives back 15.20

Lucas on the other hand, needs to be in school by 9am. So mornings are a total nightmare for me.

Oh Gabby, how we worry about you, but yet, it's time to let you learn to be independant. We know you"ll be well taken care of. Be good sweetie and eat your veggies and meat in school. Mummy loves you very much.

Lucas` 1st Day At Japanese Kindy

Big change for Lucas. New environment and new language. He`s been attending an English preschool since he was 18months old and he rocked it in class because his main mother tongue is English at home. Come this April, he`s been thrown into a totally foreign language and school. He kept telling me he didn`t want to go to Japanese school because he wouldn`t understand what teacher was saying.

I kept telling him don`t worry, you`re so clever you will learn so so fast and know 2 languages. Still, the boy was scared, very scared and today as i dropped him off for 1st day at kindy, he pinched my arms so hard trying to hold me it`s bruised now and still stinging.

I`m sure he`ll adjust in no time, but i still can`t help but feel worried for him.

Here In Japan, kindergarten is a very very very time consuming period for mothers. There are tons of PTAs and meetings, and mummy involvement in school events and much more ours as it is a very small kindy with a total of like 40 students. Every month i am confirmed to have at least 1 PTA meeting, more when it is an important month. Gulp..........

And, it is not uncommon to see mummies frantically making kindergarten bags. Yup, many make them, in some schools, it is COMPULSARY. I can`t sew, i really can`t. The most is i can sew a button on. Sewing machine, worst still, it`s like foreign to me. So, when i got the details from the kindy, i had to make 5 bags.

Main bag
Skipping Rope bag
Blocks Bag
Indoor shoes bag
Dirty clothes bag

I did contemplate asking people to make it for me, but i thought, heck, maybe i should just try to make them and in the end if i fail miserably, I`ll just get someone to make it for me. So yeah, i found a teacher and signed up for 4 2-hour session classes. Costs me JPY 22,500. Not cheap at all, plus my fabrics alone cost me JPY 10,000.

In the end i managed to finish all 5 bags in the classes and I`m glad that i made the effort to at least try. The details are not pretty eg some of my lines aren`t straight and the ends are messy, but still I feel i`ve accomplished at least something for Lucas.

And, and and....we mustn`t forget his precious Pikachu indoor shoes. How lovely are these?

And Lucas has his own school uniform so i don`t have to worry about choosing clothes for him. I htink baby looks super cute in his uniform with the hat and bag.

I`m sure you`ll do well Lucas, you always try your best to learn new things, you just need time. Mummy loves you & I`m so proud of you.

April....big changes for the boys. Lucas, who has been going to an English Pre-School since he turned 1.5years old, is finally entering Japanese Kindergarten. Gabriel`s time in his Japanese special school kindy is finally entering Elementary school (Primary school).

Both my boys have grown so so much, especially Gabriel. I`m very exited for him as he enters this new phase and see what lies ahead for him the next few years. Previously, it was a painful and confusing decision as to whether he should go to a normal elementary school in special lass OR just go to a Special school.

As happy we are to progress onwards, we are extremely sad to leave Hello Kids Preschool, even though they will still attend the after school English class twice a week for 2 hours.

Saying goodbye is hard, but we leave with so many happy memories. Thank you Hello Kids for all you have done.

The BIG 4-0

So, I turn 40 today. If you look at the numbers individually, 4.0....they don`t seem like such huge numbers on it`s own. But when you say it, and say `I`m 40 this year`...WOW! It seems huge. I`ve come a long way haven`t I? Nothing bad about it, in fact, I hear that 40 is the NEW 30? Or was it 25?

I`ve reflected a lot today. On the past, the now, the future. Everything seems as it should be and more. I couldn`t be happier and though life seemed to have taken me by surprise around certain corners, I wouldn`t change a thing. At 40, I`ve learnt a lot and am grateful for what I have today.

I`ve told myself that I must and will take care of myself more now that the kids are bigger and I can have more ME time. Don`t get me wrong, ME time is not just all about shopping you know. I want to make exercising my priority. Not to be stick thin (I never can be anyway). More like to be healthy and be strong. Yes, fit & strong. And now, 4 days a week I try my best to go to the gym while the boys are at school. whatever little time I have left, I try to catch up with friends whenever possible or just do what I like.

Life in Tokyo is great, not just for me but for our family. I have only a few friends here, but these friends I treasure.

To all my family, relatives & friends who have stayed by my side and in my life, Thank You. Thank you for the wonderful birthday wishes.

Thank you to my husband for a very generous birthday gift/ I love it very much. I love you.

To my 2 kids, Thank you for allowing me to be your mummy, though not an easy job. I promise I will try to scream less at you both. Love you both heaps.

And finally, a photo to remember how I look like turning 40 (obviously not my best picture, but oh well) ..now...bring on the champagne and chocolates....

Taiwan Trip April-May 2017

I`m not sure why I`ve never really had Taiwan in my mind when it comes to choosing a holiday destination. So, when the hubby suggested it, well, okay I said, why not, kids & I have never been and I heard it`s a great place for kids.

We decided to go during the Japanese long Golden Week holiday since the kiddos had a week long holiday then. This was a good good trip, I think because Lucas is older now and much more independent. Travel was a breeze with him. He ate and slept and watched the in-flight TV. Gabe was getting much better too, you just need to prepare some toys for him to occupy himself.

Taiwan Day 1: Taipei
We arrived in Taipei early at 10am. Got our rental car and made our way to lunch. it was too early to check-in to the hotel anyway. where did we go for lunch? The very famous Din Tai Fung at Taipei 101!!! Darn good choice for lunch if I must say so. The food here is so so so good! Tokyo`s outlet cannot even compare to this. I had my pork chop soup noodle. Slurping good! And I had the chilli oil dumpling too! So fantastic I cannot even describe how good it was.

After lunch we walked around abit, and made our way to the Hotel. Nope, not 5 star, just a very normal hotel, clean and comfy, near the Songshan area.

Dinner was equally exciting, I had read that Taiwan`s night market food was beyond awesome, so I made it a priority to eat at night markets whenever we could. Our first night here we went to Ningxia Night Market, more known amongst the locals. Not disappointed at all. Surprisingly the kids loved the food. I thought they`d be whining n all. Nope, they were pretty much cool with it. They had the famous Minced meat rice and both enjoyed it.

After that we had dessert, peanut rice balls in peanut soup. Delicious, Dad you would love this!!

Before coming on this trip, I made a huge mistake. I told Lucas that Paw Patrol, his current fave toy, was available here and cheap. Big big mistake. Once landed, he just kept bugging us about the toy and said he wanted to got Toys R Us, so, no choice, we searched for the nearest one and it wasn`t far from our hotel. Made a pit stop after dinner.

See the 2 happy faces????

Day 2: Sun Moon Lake
No one goes to Taiwan without going to Sun Moon Lake...right?
We didn@t opt for breakfast at the hotel, not with so many yummy food! So, once we checked-out, we walked nearby to a local shop serving noodles. Sorry, obviously this mean ain`t everyone`s fave. I know my BILs would balk.

Yeah, pig intestines and the noodle was pretty good, though Gabe liked it more than Lucas who was very reluctant. Oh well, can`t please everyone.

Sun Moon Lake was beautiful, very very picturesque. Weather was fantastic, not too hot not too cold. Our hotel was just right infront of the jetty. since it wasn@t time to check-in, we walked around looking for food. Before we went up to the room, we decided we`d just take out some food since it was a hassle to come back down.Had their famous rice stuffed in chicken wings, kids ate the minced meat rice again, got the famous meat stuffed in bread. Hmm, to me it was all so-so only, nothing to rave about.

By the way, if you like mirrors, this hotel is perfect for you. The bathroom sliding doors all have mirrors, so when u close everything, you get to see yourself in every angle...

Day 3: Taichung
Hubby kept saying there ain`t much in Taichung. Yes I know, but I had 1 mission, and 1 only. To go to the Miyahara building where the famous Dawn Cake pineapple cakes were. And our hotel Hotel 53 was a great hotel directly opposite. Gabe & Terry wanted to rest, so Lucas & I decided to roam around not wanting to waster precious time. Once we got there we headed up to the restaurant to get a taste of that delicious ice cream everyone raves about. It was a 5 scoop one, with 5 toppings...obviously we couldn`t finish it, but what the heck, we had to have it.

Of course, you don`t leave without buying the pineapple cakes. I tell you best decision I ever made was to get 5 boxes. Gave it to my friends they were drooling. And I have to say yes, worthwhile to stuff your face. Hit the gym later.

Our hotel by the way was cozy and clean, nothing fancy for a short night stay

Taichung has night markets too and we went to Fengjia Night Market a huge one packed packed with many people. But again, fantastic experience and food. I tell you, I think the hubby obviously got into the holiday mood too, coz out of the blue, we passed by a toy stall, Lucas JUST requested to see a toy. The father, came and told him Paw Patrol was there! I mean, we didn@t even see it. Then, amazingly like a man possessed,the dad offered to buy each a toy! I mean even Lucas was stunned, he actually hesitated and I told him daddy says yes, can choose one! haahaha win lottery. So, in the end, Lucas chose Paw Patrol and Gabe chose his Peppa Pig (more on this Peppa Pig next post).

Day 4: Leofoo Resort
This was to be the highlight for the kids. We booked a room at the resort where you had a direct view of the animals all day. We visited the theme park first. Okay, this ain`t Disney or USJ. It`s just a small theme park to please the kids a little.

Day 5: Jiufen & Taipei
This was another highlight I was anticipating. I had read online how fabulous Jiufen was, the food especially. And yes, I enjoyed it. Such a delightful street. It wasn`t too crowded when we got there, so walking was easy and the kids were well behaved. Okay the food, totally awesome. I went for the taro balls and peanut ice cream wrap....so so so good!! My dad would have loved it here!

The cuttlefish! So good, it was spicy and so so flavorful. Japan has it too, just that it`s so hard and tough to eat. I should have ordered like double the amount..damned.

After Jiufen we made our way to Taipei and stayed at the same hotel previously. Tonight, we went to Ximending. Who goes to Taipei without going to Ximending? Definetely not me for sure. Verdict? Worth it. Not crowded at all, weather great for a stroll, awesome street performance. But the highlight?? The famous Hot Star Fried Chicken! OMG, I so miss it. even the kids were asking for seconds.

Dinner wasn@t so good...

That sauce on my peidan killed it...tasted yucky

Day 6: Taipei last day
Okay this day was disappointing, and according to my sisters it was because I was a bimbo for choosing to visit the famous Shilin Night market....at 3pm.......

Okay okay, yes dumb choice, but after visiting the Chang Kai Shek hall, we went driving around to Yangmingshan mountain, by the time we got back to Taipei city, we figured we`d be too tired to come back out, and besides I read that some stalls open at 3pm.

Soooo, off we went. We didn`t entirely come back empty handed. We tapaued dinner. Fried chicken, peanut roll, minced meat rice (again) for the kids, oyster omelette, Korean fried chicken thingys....hmm...honestly none of it was anything to rave about. I can`t understand why they like to put that starchy yucky sauce on the oyster omelette, it just made it taste so bad!!! sigh, I was really disappointed about Shilin, it seemed to be nothing I read about in all the blogs.

And with that our trip came to an end, next day our flight was early at 9am.

Will I go back to Taiwan again??? Big YES. But this time I`d want to go to Yilan and Khaoshiung. And stay in those lovely Minshus....wait for me Taiwan, I`ll be back and this time I`ll get 10 of those Hot Stars.