Another Play Date

Maddie and Katiana had a fantastic time two days in a row. They got to stay up until 9:30 last night while mom was at the school watching the IASAS championship basketball game next door at the school. The girls had a great time and Ben even taught her a few magic tricks for her to perform for her mom when she came. I enjoyed our visit while the kids finished their popcorn and movie. We tried a new "pink pineapple" I had picked up at the market that afternoon and were terribly disappointed to see it was just plain old pale yellow inside rather than pink. Wouldn't that have been awesome? A pineapple as bright pink as dragon fruit or beets? We had a few persimmons too which Jake and I like a lot.

Service Learning

I like that SAS values service learning and each grade and class does something ongoing. Madison and her class serve the people at Adventist Rehab Center. Today I got to chaperone and they played/helped the patients do shape matching to build pictures. They had a great time. Here she is with her friend Kanak.

Madison and Her Friends

Madison has proven to be a popular gal. She is always having people ask her to play and we are jockeying time so we can pick up or drop off someone downtown. Kanak is one of her favorites. When we went to India we heard over and over that we were going "to Kanak's country. She's a sweet friend and we love her family. This is a picture of the girls after their rap performance at the Christmas concert.

If I Owned A Truck Today...

I’d go buy a huge tarp and put it in the truck bed and make a swimming pool for the kids. And I’d join them in a nice swim.

Tai Tai Bonus

My understanding of the phrase “Tai Tai” is that it’s the rich wife who never does any work. It’s what is assumed that all expat wives here in Asia qualify as Tai Tais.

 

Last week I finally caved (after a year plus of asking) and went with my girlfriend to get a pedicure. Sitting there in the cushy chairs getting our feet worked on the ladies teased us that we were just Tai Tai out for a day of fun with all our money. My friend goes for a pedicure a couple times a month, so they are friendly with each other and can tease her.

 

Tai Tai. That’d be me for sure, right? I don’t do much at all. Just a “lunching lady” who shops and goes to the spa. Ummm…NO. I have a good life, make no mistake about that. Gina has made it better to be sure, but in my western mind that has only freed me up to go do more volunteering and be more involved in the school lives of my kids and read and play with the short people I share a life with.

 

Today I got an email from Madison’s kindergarten teacher. It was the chaperone list for the Chinatown fieldtrip next week. There are 22 kids in the class and 20 have a parent coming along. The other two are working parents – who I happen to know because they come every single chance they get, which is most of the time.

 

Is that NUTS??? Nearly 100% chaperones. Rock on Tai Tai’s of the world!! (And the dads that are taking work off to come are also pretty stellar.) This world I’m living in is pretty great.

 

I’m curious to see how it all plays out as they age though. I also arranged chaperones to Jurong Bird Park for Ben’s third grade class this week. Of 22 I had 6 offer. And it was PULLING TEETH to get support out of them for our class project – just email me a recipe their kids like. We had SIX deadlines before I gave up, but that’s a topic for another post about my cultural analysis of cooking in a country with helpers….

Pasta and Bread

Kristie has a rule that no pasta can be consumed unless you also provide bread in some variety - like rolls or a slice of bread. Tonight we didn't open the bread loaf until we had basically finished dinner so the kids asked for a literal crumb so that they didn't get in trouble with mean Aunt Kristie.

Glasses for Ashlyn

 

Good bye baby face. Hello glasses. Here is Ashlyn with her new look. We picked up her glasses tonight and she's not a fan. Notice to get the picture, we had both her hands held down. We will take baby steps on this one. Hahaha. Just wearing them a little at a time until she learns to accept them. Meanwhile she's taking her own baby steps and getting lots better at walking on her own.