Away again

I'll be away for another 2 weeks. It will be painful to be away from my kids for another 2 weeks. Work calls......

I told Ryan that I'll be in China for 2 weeks. His initial reaction was "No.....". That tore my heart. The second time I tried to tell him, he said, "I want to go to your office. I want to go to China." I had to bribe him with a trip to Universal Studios in November. Guilty as I am, I still have to go. How do I cope? I'm not sure. I guess it's very routine for the kids now. See mom during the weekend and occasionally on weekdays. I think what's more important for them now is routine and stability.

Thankfully the domestic helper is working out well so far. The kids like her. A bit too much maybe. Don't misunderstand....I'm not jealous. They like her very much because she is easy to bully. That's not a good sign. The kids are becoming too reliant on her, especially Xavier. He is now asking Auntie Perla to shower him, dry him and help him wear his clothes. That's moving backwards 2 years. I put a stop to it today. Just talked to him and asked him to mind his manners - no shouting instructions to the help, must use "Please" and "Thank You" when asking for things, no more asking her to do things like shower and helping him wear his clothes.

Xavier followed me to the salon for my facial today. He enjoyed himself drinking honey and playing games on the iPod. He's doing well in school, gets along well with his friends, excellent scores in topical tests, independent and helpful. But he is not very keen on certain activities. I'm still unable to put my finger on the issue. Maybe I'm just thinking too much.

Ryan is very sweet. He was eating a piece of mooncake and asked, "Do you want to eat this?". He is an adorable child. He is very shy and is not participating in the school concert this year. He refuses to dance in front of strangers. His favourite movie now is Rio and he would sing, "All the birds of a feather......" very loudly at home. Kid with a strange temperament.

Keane is showing much improvement in his speech. The other day, he drew a picture of a cheetah. Although the cheetah looked more like a snake, it had 4 legs, 2 eyes, 1 nose and a big smile. It was excellent effort on his part and he received much praise for his accurate coloring. He is still grumbling at the slightest provocation. Today he cried because his dad played a phrase "Fatty Bom Bom" from his phone. He thought that his dad was calling him a fatty. We notice that every time he is playing, he cannot bring himself to stop. He will cry or grumble very loudly whenever we ask him to put away his toys or to go home. He is still sensitive.

I guess I need to pay more attention to him.I shall bring my net book with me on this trip. Hopefully I can get a good connection using a colleague's mobile 3G gadget.I am considering a "Dear Xavier" series....till then......

From my iPhone

This is the first time I'm trying Blogger from my phone....

Well done!

Here's a funny translation of a shop name in Hangzhou. Do you get it?

Xavier's Diary

Xavier has started his own blog titled Xavier's Diary.It's at http://xaviershome.blogspot.com.




He posted his first entry yesterday.I hope he will take this seriously and make regular entries.I suspect he is as lazy as his mom.

Back home finally......

I went on a 2 week business trip to China and returned today.

I spent most of today travelling - to Guangzhou on a 2 hour domestic flight then on a 4 hour flight home on SQ. I am beginning to feel the pain of travelling during the day. It makes me feel idle because I don't like using my laptop in public places. I prefer to take an overnight flight to Shanghai or Beijing and connect on the first domestic flight to my final destination. I can sleep on the plane and I can maximize my day.

I still cannot accept the standard of hygiene in most of the public toilets in China, especially in government buildings like airports or train stations. There is no soap at the sinks which never fails to irk me. Of course, there are also places in Singapore which do not have hand soap in the toilets. Every time I have such an encounter, I feel uncomfortable until I can lay my hands on some hand soap. I was complaining about this to a friend. "How can people eat after they going to the toilet and not wash their hands with soap?", I asked. His reply was, "Why bother when the people who prepare the food don't wash their hands with soap too?". That really shut me up.

I also find that the food is oilier and saltier than what we can find at home. A lot of things take some getting used to. It is fortunate that I am pretty easy going when it comes to food. Of course that means that my waist line never gets smaller.

My trips always make me appreciate Singapore more when I return.

Xavier wants to use the PC now......till next time.