DisneyLand Tokyo Gabe`s 4th Bday

I`m a huge Disneyland fan. I love that place. And i can`t think of anyone who wouldn`t...ok, maybe Terry. But then, it`ｓ not HIS birthday month. So that means i get to decide where we go to celebrate Gabe`s birthday since i share the same month as Gabe.

I booked this trip like 1.5 months in advance. Yup, kiasu. Anyway this round we stayed at Hilton Tokyo Bay, just outside of Disneyland. Previously we had stayed at the Disney Resort Hotel, but for the price, i thought that Hilton had a better deal with a triple room and theme room. Not as convenient, but still convenient. Cost Daddy abit of money, but so long as Gabe was happy, we`d happily spend it.

Birthday boy was up early, and since it was his bday weekend, he had some treats: Chocolate cake for breakfaat followed by early IPAD eye therapy

We reached Hilton at about 12.30pm after having our lunch outside. Daddy wasn`t a fan of Disney food..boo hoo. The hotel was gorgeous and huge. Not too crowded as it was a Sunday. We bought our tickets here and took the shuttle bus. Exciting exciting...

Disneyland...land of smiles and all things fun. Already i could feel so energised and happy. Kiddos probably had no idea what was ahead even though i had told them weeks ago. The weather was fantastic, cloudy with bits of sun poking out here n there. Warm n windy. Crowd wasn`t at peak so most rides we queued for like max 30-45mins only. And best thing is...Gabe totslly rocked the rides. He wasn`t all whiny and screamy like he was in Universal Studios. So Terry & i were surprised and proud that perhaps he has grown up. Lucas as usual, wasn@t afraid.

We stayed till 8pm after seeing part of the Startlight parade. By then kiddos were tired and so were we. My legs were feeling like jelly. Arms numb from carrying both kids.

The hotel room was great. Beautifully designed and spacious. Triple bed was a great welcome compared to the usualy twin beds that we found were just too small for us 4 to sleepp comfortably. As usualy the rascals attacked the hotel phone till we had to hang it up higher so they couldn`t reach. And they attached every book/brochure/paper they saw.

And in the video you will see that Gabe discovered a hiding place, and Lucas realised it too, and wanted to close the cupboard door..with Gabe inside and got so pissed off when Gabe blocked him from doing it. Aren@t holidays just so FUN!!

Our hotel room

Notice the last picture, birthday boy is busy digging out his chocloate sweets from the Mickey egg, he loved those chocs to bits popped so many into his mouth

LOved this trip, I`m gonna make another visit there..hmm...maybe for Lucas` birthday...

Gabe vs Mozzie

In the car today, after picking him from school, i had strapped him into his carseat. Then i was about to start the engine and go, when he suddenly started screaming and crying. He kept pointing at Lucas and i thought at first that maybe Lucas hit him or sumthin, then i realised Gabe was pointing to the mosquito at Lucas` feet....you see, Gabe has this great fear of mozzies. So i hit the mozzie n yup, it died...

Terry and I discovered Gabe`s big fear few weeks back. You see, it`s summer here in Tokyo and it`s mozzie feast. Believe me, the mozzies here are terrifying. Their bite stings and all our bites swell up really badly. Dunno why. So yes, it`s something to be scared about.

We were wearing our shoes at home wanting to go out for lunch. Then, Terry happened to mention `mosquito` and i said i have spray. Gabe suddenly freaked out then, screaming and crying and didn`t want to go out of the door. Then it hit me. I realised he heard the `mozzie` word. Previously he had also freaked out in the car when he saw a mozzie. So i told Terry. He didn`t believe me. He kept asking Gabe why he didn`t wanna go to school. And Terry even said `issir something happened in school?`....i said no it`s the mozzie word.

So anyway, Gabe was hysterical by then. He refused, totally refused to get up. He kept telling us he wanted to go to sleep...ahahaha...he used hand gesture by doing the palms together at side og face for going to sleep sign. It was really quite funny, coz he just woke up and now suddenly wanted to sleep.

Long story short, we made it to the car and told ourselves never to mention that M word in front of him.

The boy is weird. He can touch lizrds n big dogs, but freaks at mosquitos...Funny boy u Gabe.

Happy 4th Birthday Gabe

4 years ago, Gabe came into our lives. That 4 years seems so distant now. But the memories are all there. The struggles, the challenges, and most of all those surgeries. But we`ve come so far, we`ve overcome all those struggles Gabe. Here we are 4 years later, standing tall and proud.

Yes, I`m very proud of Gabe. Down Syndrome, heart defects n all. You are one damned cheeky, funny, stubborn, IPAD loving boy. Not a day goes by without you getting scolded. Not a day goes by without you doing one of your funny dance moves. I love it all.

Years back, if anyone had told me i were to have a child with Down Syndrome, I`d be so freaked out and terribly scared. How i wish before that I knew what this meant, so that i could have been better equipped and prepared for you Gabe. And i wish i knew then that this wouldn`t be a dead end filled with sadness. I wish I knew that my days would mostly be filled with tears of happiness.

You are by far my biggest accomplishment. Bringing you up in a foreign land, where we couldn`t understand a damned thing the doctors and therapists told us, getting past those horrible mushy feeding days where we would both end up in tears, hauling our asses to those therapy sessions where I probably worked harder than you and going through those surgery days. I shudder at those thoughts. But we made it. Life is good now huh, Gabe? Yeah, your days are filled now with everything chocolate, Anpanmam, Mickey Mouse, IPAD and play times.

At 4 years old, you`re tiny for your age. But that`s okay. You`re still as fussy as ever about your food, that`s NOT okay since it`s torture for Mummy to cook for you. You can speak many many words, but not sentences yet. That`s okay, we`ll get to it sooner or later. When you walk, you look like you`ve drunk a bottle of something strong since you still wobble here and there. That`s okay too, you`ll get stronger.

We`re more than OKAY right now folks. We`re happy.

I love you to bits Gabe, and I`m sure Daddy feels the same. Lucas, well, maybe if you stop hitting him, he may feel the same. And I`m sure back in Singapore, you`re very much loved too.

Mummy wishes you many more Happy Birthdays to come and that life will always be filled with kindness and sunshine for you lil one. For as long as i shall live, Mummy will be here to protect you as much as i can and make you feel loved.

Carry on with your funny moves and expressions Gabe, I`m always a step behind you, watching you and hearing you.

I LOVE YOU

Turning 38

It`s my birthday today. I`m 38 years old. Yes, that`s old n scary. I have 2 kids, 4yrs old & 1.6yrs old. My uterus and ovaries have done their required jobs and it is now time to retire. After 4 years, I am starting to start enjoying having some alone time.

Don`t get me wrong, i love my 2 wonderful kids, i have no issues with turning 38. In fact i think life gets better as you age. But right now, 2 years short of hitting to BIG 4-0, I`d like to enjoy life abit. People have different terms when they use the word ENJOY. For me, i think my requests are fairly simple and not overly demanding. Here are some of the things i can finally enjoy turning 38:

Taking A Dunk
Until a short time ago, I had to have an audience everytime i needed to take a dunk or pee. I mean, if I`m performing some sort of dance or show, yes it`d be great to have people clapping n watching intensely. But not when you`re trying to get rid of excess waste from your body. Usually it`s a pair of eyes staring n looking, sometimes it`s 2. So now, catching the opportunity i have in the mornings, i can dunk in peace and quietness. No more small voices saying `pee`, or small hands trying to help you get toilet paper, or small bodies getting as near to the toilet bowl to catch a glimpse of water flushing.

Bathing
Yes, another audience worthy act of mine. I can`t even close the door, else they just scream and bang on the door. So everytime i just have to quickly bathe n feel the stares of 2 pair of eyes. Sometimes, Lucas will even try his luck by entering the shower n get a sound scolding from me.
Now, i can bathe in my own privacy and am even considering a soak in the tub.

Coffee Time
With Lucas, coffee time inside the store is rare. Usually i go to Starbucks and take out. But the past week, I enjoyed my coffee sitting down at the table and scrolling my IPhone happily, basking in the relaxed environment. Previously, I`d barely touch my coffee when Lucas starts to fuss and run away, and I`d have to quickly gulp down the entire cup in that minute.

Lunch Alone
I can finally eat my lunch in peace, without having to feed a screamy, whiny, wriggly baby. I can actually enjoy every morsel of food that goes into my mouth. If i wanted, i could have a 3 hour lunch. Pure bliss. I can eat with friends and chat away without worring if Lucas is still in his chair or has he fallen off somewhere, or if he poked his eyes out with the fork. This....this is my fave of all. Enjoying my lunch.

The one things that i so want to do, but have not been able to is NAP. Yes, precious beauty sleep. I think my inability to nap in the afternoons started when i was pregnant with Gabe. And lasted till now. No matter how tired i am, i just CANNOT fall asleep in the afternoon. I so wished i could, I`d be so much for awake and enegetic if i could.

Yup, those are my simple forms of enjoyment for now. 2 precious days a week. Gone in a blink of an eye.

Turning 38 is just the start of FABULOUS. Happy Birthday to ME.

Kiddos Start New Preschool

Monday was the boys` first day at their new English preschool, Hello Kids. I think i was pretty nervous especially since this would be the first time I@d be away from Lucas for like half a day. I already mentally prepared myself to expect some sort of drama when dropping him off.

School starts at 10am. So we were on time that day and once we reached the entrance, their teacher was already there. Gabriel, of course had no hesitation, took off his shoes and without even a backward glance at me or questioning his new environment, went on to play with the other kids there. Lucas on the other hand, caught wind of what was about to happen and hung onto me. But i firmly put him down and took off his shoes and told the teacher I`d be going off now. True enough, Lucas cried the moment i stood up. But i sucked it up and left.

Terry was in the car waiting, and yeah i was nervous, but this had to be done. So off we went to run errands and we had a lovely lunch all by ourselves at a Vietnamese restaurant. I kept looking at my pphone expecting a call from the school to tell me that Lucas was crying uncontrollably and i had to come pick him....but nope...instead, i got a nice video of them singing..well, ok the rest of the kids were singing, Gabriel was sitting and Lucas...well, err Lucas was confused.

They will be going to Hello Kids every Monday & Tuesdays from 10am till 2.30pm...not alot of ME time for me, but it`ll do for now...what do i plan to do? Well, japanese lessons don`t start till July, so I`m just planning to have some quiet peaceful coffee or lunch by myself, and perhaps get a haircut and tidy up the storeroom.

Those are LUXURY. You see, in Japan, i think i can safely say 90% of non-working mums do not send their kids below 3 yrs old to school. Nope...babies stay with their mums until they enter Kindergarten which is after 3yrs old of age. So when i tell people Lucas is off to school, their eyes widen and mouth open ever so slightly. See, I`m not working so people expect you to look after your child, 24/7 irregardless whether you are sick with fever, chicken pox or half cawling on the floor. Yup, truw. Japanese mums are the toughest. Seriously, i really respect them. And they can cook & clean the house with no help. Beyond me...

So, anyway, with only 2 precious half days, i have to spend it carefully, it`s too precious. For now, coffee to myself will do just fine. And random bouts of shopping. All by myself..

Glad that they are doing well, teacher said Gabe is handling things really well, hes`s eating and playing and learning. Lucas cried for like 30mins on Day 1, Day 2 he cried like 15mins, so I`m hoping he`ll realise school is fun and a an angry frustrated Mummy is NO FUN, so he`ll be smart n start to like school.

You can see, i need to prepare their daily Bento for lunch. It`s a pain, believe, me everydy thinking in advance what to cook for them and what to buy for grocery. But it`s the Japanese way,so no choice. Which is why much earlier on I started preparing Lucas`s lunch at home similar to what I`d let him bring to school. Easy to hold and eat foods. Eg, rice balls or onigiri, nuggets, patties, carrot in cube etc. That way, he wouldn`t need to use the spoon & fork yet. He ate about half his food in school, a good try i guess. But at home he eats more, so I`m not too worried since dinner he eats alot.

Gabe well, is Gabe. He finishes his White rice 95% of the time and leaves most of the rest. Oh well, better than not eating at all.

Their Bento sample:)

And here are the videos from Day 1 and Day 2, notice how Lucas is `moving` more during song time in the 2nd video which is Day 2...rascal is warming up



Day 2 video


And if you notice we have a very lazy bum there sitting down. Have to talk to the teacher about this one.

If all goes well, by year end i think i can upgradeLucas to maybe 3-4 times a week.....not too cruel right? Afterall, it`s just half day.

More updates to come...