Epic Holiday: Day 1

So one would think that an Epic Holiday should start with a bang. But after the long journey from home, which took practically a whole day despite the flights lasting a total of 6 hours, we simply took a long rest at home, followed with a trip to the local government office to update our IDs (a new requirement by the government).
The wait was considerable, although some would say it was amazingly brief as things went, so... as usual, we spent time taking pics.
It's also a good thing that Kecil's Tante was along for the 'outing' as well.

And then of course Kecil wanted to have a turn with the camera:

The trip was followed with some going around looking for a specific loot from the holiday, which will be covered in the next post. In the meantime, here's wishing you a good rest for the day, just as we did on that day 1 of our Epic holiday.

Cheers!

Epic Holiday: the Begining

Any journey, no matter how epic, starts with the first step. Just so with our Epic holiday.
So... for the first step, we had to go through the morning flight at the airport, which means 'kidnapping' the Kid from her slumber while it was still dark, making the one-hour-trip to the nearest international airport under the stars, and sleepily navigating the various counters just to get on board our flight.
Somehow, that day, Kecil, who had been prepped about her upcoming journey, woke up easily and was soon dressed up and ready to go. She's excited about the trip, all right.

So, once we were done with all the pesky administrative stuff, we bought our drinks, took pictures, and board the plane when the call was made.

Last sight of the airport 

Kecil did come prepared for the wait for the plane to take off.

Thanks to all her Skooling, Mama can even put Kecil in charge of filling the immigration forms (hehe).

After which, it was time to relax while watching her favorite show, the Baa.

We made one stopover, in Singapore, where Mama and Daddy rushed out of the airport for a chance to slurp some delicious dishes of their days of living there. Kecil, while none to bemused by the strange dishes, was certainly enjoying the clean environment as well as the chance to explore the City State using public transport with her Mama and Daddy.

Playing while waiting for the bus, after which she urgently plead "Need to wee, Mama!"

Good thing the bus stop was right in front of a posh hotel!

Admiring the indoor decor at the airport

Taking a ride on the (empty) luggage trolley

We had a great time overall, through the first flight, the stop over, even the connecting flight to Surabaya later on. 

We'll not mention the name of the full-service airline which was the connecting flight, but Mama was definitely quite indignant that Kecil's food turned out to be WAY better than the adult fare. And of course, being special meal, they were served first! 

I'd say perhaps the kids meal option is something worth going into the next time I fly. Hmmm....

Check out the Kid's meal: Kit Kat, Milo, fruits, perfectly done vegs on chicken and potatoes ... all served on priority.

No pics of the adult meal, unfortunately, since Mama was so ravenous by the time food was served, it was gone before any pics were taken. But we did not get any Milo, nor Kit Kat! And the poor broccoli was practically resurrected from the grave or something, after being boiled to death. Sigh.

Well.. Kids have it good these days. 

So... we'll see you on the next installment of the Epic Holidays. Hope you're enjoying it so far.

The Epic Holiday

With Skool safely over (and Mama's deadlines safely postponed to another date), we embarked on our Epic Holiday. You see, as the year end approached, we realized that Daddy still have plenty of days off left, plus a set of ticket allowance to go home as a family. Combined with Oma's recent encounter with the hospitals, we decided it was a good time to have a long holiday at home, to meet the family while also letting Kecil learn a few things about her home country.
It was a pretty long holiday, the result of which was our Missing episode from this space.
But well... we are back now, Mama with her own computer and reliable internet connection (no more taking turns to go online, yey!), so hopefully over the next few days we can go through the pics and the stories of the epic holiday, peppered with some recent stories here and there as well. Hope you'll enjoy the ride along!

Backlog: Christmas Party

Since Christmas rehearsal was done on the day before the party itself, there was no more long wait for the D-day. We arrived early to find the room already dressed up to the nines, stockings hung and even some early students already running around.

There was the beautiful winter scene, a curious little boy, even curious little girls meandering around.

There was time to greet friends, time to play with friends, but soon it was time to start the show, as the Teacher announced the first item in the list of events.

And so the kids put up their cute Santa hats and took up their musical instruments, and they sang and danced, and basically did all their best to bring in the spirit of Christmas (while entertaining all the parents and make them proud!)

There was the usual stampede as the Kids danced, but it was still a good party, with food. Of course there was food!

... and some dining outside, and some playing...

All in all, it was a good party, a great way to end Skool of the year 2011, as we were to have a break for all the Skooling to celebrate Christmas and the New Year holidays. Kudos to all the teachers for making 2011 a great year. We have only the best hopes for 2012!

Backlog: Christmas rehearsal

Once the Christmas crafts are done, it's time to rehearse for the big party of the year, the Christmas Party @ Skool!

There aren't that many good images from the rehearsal itself, as the students are basically running around everywhere (while the teachers worked REALLY hard to get them to practice their parts). Even Kecil got bored after a while. Thank goodness for great company, in the form of other cute little girls in Santa hats.
Stay tuned for the Christmas party post itself, coming up shortly!

Backlog: Christmas crafts

Well, Christmas might be over, with all the associated happenings (the parties, presents, even an epic holiday!), but Mama's backlog of stories is a veritable mountain. So we'll start easy, and slowly, and perhaps, by Valentine's day, we'll finally be done. If Mama does not give up hope first, that is. Still, there is always the effort. So, without further a due... Christmas crafts!

It would seem that, as much as this proud Mama would love to attribute Kecil's anticipation for Christmas purely on Kecil's development, it would seem that the Skool have played a part as well. What with all the Christmas themed craft in the days preceding the holidays.
Some were brought home immediately to be shown off to Mama and Daddy, while others stayed in Skool in preparation for the Christmas party.

Well, whatever the case, this Mama is happy that Kecil had some inkling about Christmas, even if it is mostly about the tree, the decorations, Santa Claus, bells and wreaths. Stay tuned, as we'll try to post details on the Christmas party in the following days.

In the meantime, here's to recovering from the festivities!

{this moment}

{this moment} A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. via SouleMama

Happy New Year!

2011 has been a great year, even if everybody got busier, with Daddy and his ever-increasing workload, Mama and her 'stuff', and Kecil with Skool and all.

We wish you all a great new year, this coming 2012, on this last day of 2011. Right on top of the list, this Mama hopes to clear Mama's backlog of pics and stories ASAP, learn even more stuff, have more fun, basically having a blast in 2012. I am very sure we all share similar hopes for the coming new year.

So... cheers, have a toast, have a blast!

From this Daddy, Mama & Kecil, wishing you all a wonderful year of 2012!

Missing...

We had been missing from this space.

Indeed, we are currently on our BIG holiday, visiting the people who are our main audience in this blog, the Family. It's an epic holiday, with surely tons of pictures, stories, hilarious giggles and laughter, with family, with new and old friends, new places, new gadgets, old haunts ....
Epic.

I suppose it will be a while until we get down from all the whirlwind (which is still going on as Christmas and New Year comes along). But we'll try our best to drop in, and even work on that backlog on the Skool's Christmas party. Eeks!

And just in case we don't get to see you again until next year, here's to a great holiday to each and everyone of you!

Happy Holidays!

{this moment}

{this moment} A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. via SouleMama

Our Christmas tree

 It's a bit overdue, but seriously, who would ever thought it be so difficult to get a nice pic of the tree?

Our tree this year is a sight that makes this Mama happy,
It is still our old tree, already four years in use, older than Kecil herself,
With the same old decoration in red and gold, the very ones we bought after we got the tree,
Just with a slight twist to the placement.

This year, it's bottom heavy! (Do you notice the heavy concentration of red balls at the bottom of the tree?)

The tree this year is not only early,
It was also decorated in collaboration with the Little One, who has, finally, grasped the idea of this huge, nationwide celebration (oh, worldwide. But especially felt here, in a predominantly Christian/Catholic country), called Christmas.

In fact, the tree is also not ... stagnant.
For every now and then, this Mama would find bits and bobs from the tree ending up in various places around the house.
Courtesy of ... ahem... let's not call names, ya?

But it's a happy sight, our Christmas tree this year, as it totally signify yet another milestone in Kecil's growth.

How's your tree this year?

Perspective

(Now that I've shared with you our new toy, I can share this story, since the pics are mostly taken using the new toy)


In dealing with Kecil every day, although squatting down to get on her level kind of comes naturally, often this Mama forgot that her view of the world might be wildly different, thanks to her ... uhmm... relative size. So it was indeed great to have a share-able, Kecil-proof camera, with which Kecil offered this Mama the world through her eyes.

 Like her tall, tall, big Mama, who loves big sunglasses and from whom Kecil learnt this pose

Mama's uhm.. huge arms

the blue sky as the favored background (got to do with the angle the pics are taken, no?)

And even how close the Dog's face really is to Kecil's (and Ami's) eye level.
Photo credit: Ami

It's going to be interesting to see how much faster Mama's hard disk is going to be filled up with an extra camera around the house (and a certain set of itchy fingers). I am looking forward to it. How about you?