Turning 40

Not me. Not yet.

We were invited to a lovely 40th birthday party - and spent the day in the sun and sand. The location couldn't be better; just 1o minutes from our house.






























































































































































































Gorgeous day. Good food and friends.

Kids played so hard we were lucky they didn't pass out in the car on the way home.

Chase's 5th Birthday Party

Chase wanted a circus birthday party to celebrate turning 5. She started talking about her party in December, so we've been mulling it over (planning) for quite a while. First we needed a clown....hmmm.... and then we needed two tightrope walking sisters....




















And a ticket booth, where children brought their tickets, and - if they were taller then the squirrel's tale, could come in and play (after getting a stamp and red noses)...














We needed popcorn bags (note to self, in humid climate, even if popcorn is popped only 1 hr before the party it gets soft and chewy).







































Elephant rides and pin the nose on the elephant, which in planning seemed a good idea, but kids seemed confused about the elephant and why he didn't have a nose. (Note, interesting social science experiment)













Feed the lion and ring toss ...














Tightrope walk... (made more difficult with a beanbag on the head and an umbrella in the hand)














Decorate your own party hats, along with another two tables (I didn't get pictures of) with tattoos and the other with masks.




















Pass the parcel














The cake (aka... cupcakes in ice cream cones) with marshmallows inside the cone. Note to self, don't do these the night before (as I did) and stick them in the fridge, as it makes the cones soft and chewy. I had a minor panic attack after thinking, oh goodness, what if the kids are disappointed they aren't ice cream? Well, turns out they were just happy it was pink and white sugar coated sugar. Didn't even matter the cones were chewy.

For a quick demo, check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TD3WBqSAfEs

And then I had my second panic attack when Jojo Poppins (our helper) and I were trying to figure out how, exactly, to keep them upright. In the end, I turned paper cups upside down, slit an X into the bottom and stuck the cone down the center. It worked wonderfully - although there was one casualty.














Some guests...







































































The birthday girl...

























































































































































































I love this picture. Chase is passionate about food she likes, like an Italian (see below). She would have rolled around on and BATHED in these cake cones if she could. She ate two and wanted more.

































And then, all hopped up on sugar, I thought a performance would be a good idea. It worked until I tried to actually organize it. Everything else was a free-for-all, so I think the kids were actually, like, what the heck is that woman trying to do to us?














Kids could enter and exit from each side of the stage above.

I have to say, I need to throw more parties for children so I can stop stressing out so much over these things. I was WAY tired after this party (I blame the fact Mads has been up quite a bit the last three nights).

Another year - hard to believe! Happy Birthday, Chase!

And now for the next part of your birthday month - 1) your birthday at school and 2) your actual birthday.

Rugby

A couple snaps from Chase's last rugby practice.

































































Hubs was a coach, but also played for the Kowloon team...














There were so many players I couldn't get them all in the photo...

Am I Doing The Right Thing?

So I talked to a friend of mine, who happens to be a local actress, about getting Chase into modeling (for fun). Her husband, it turns out, is pretty linked-in. He wants to submit her pics to Elite, the top modeling agency in Hong Kong. I sent her pictures tonight, so we'll see where it goes. Maybe nowhere. Maybe somewhere. But any money she makes will be divided between 1) college and 2) her Candy business.

Bananas

Mads has been teething AGAIN. As a result, Mads has been waking every morning around 4 a.m. asking me for "cold banana. Half." Just to be clear.

So I carry her downstairs - down two flights in what feels like the middle of the night - and pull a frozen banana out of the freezer. We sit downstairs, in the dark. Mads cuddles close. Eats her banana over the course of the next half hour and then asks for juice. So I give her juice, and we tip-toe back upstairs. And she falls asleep just as the sun rises. Just in time for Chase to wake up - and wake her back up. And then poor dear is crabby for the rest of the day. And so am I.

True Love

We went to Dim Sum today with a friend, who has an older son. Chase told me on the drive home that she wanted to marry the boy when she gets older. I told her that was nice, but she had a lot of life to live and a lot to do before she should think about getting married.

And then I said, "Chase, there are going to be a lot of boys who will want to marry you. You need to take your time deciding."

And she said, "I think when it's time to get married, I will go for a walk and a boy will come to me and tell me he wants to marry me." I said, "Yes, that's probably what will happen. A lot."

Dragon/Lion Dances

To celebrate Chinese New Year, our little town held a dragon/lion dance -- it was fabulous, or so I was told by Hubs. We arrived at the designated time, only to hear it was going to start an hour later. After an hour, Mads was ready to go -- just in time for everything to start. So we played in the playground nearby, while Hubs and Chase watched the dancers. Here are some pictures!

What Keeps Chase Busy

I thought this was worth posting, because I came into the playroom and asked Chase what she was doing. She said, "I am writing a story about Pink-o-licious." The funny thing is I could actually read it.














The next picture came as a result of one music lesson with a new teacher. As a result, she can now write music for any song she can sing. I wonder what she will learn this week?

Updates

Chase:
- After one piano lesson with her new teacher, she can now write (not play) the music for any song she can sing. Okay, she doesn't actually score (it that right?) the notes, but she can tell what kind of notes are used to achieve the rhythm/pattern within the song.
- I have decided to start her in a new ballet class. The one we've been attending has been lovely, but I want to give another teacher a try.
- Mandarin is going really well. Her language is improving to the point where she is correcting me on pronunciation.
- Spelling and reading are going REALLY well. She is doing both. She can read anything she doesn't get too upset trying to figure out. She is always writing something. Some kind of book about something. She mad a chart the other day about Madoc. When was Madoc nice? When was she naughty? Chase made sure to make notes throughout the day.
- Tennis lessons are now her favorite. Absolute favorite. Maybe it's because the tennis coach has a son named Will, who is super cute, and age 8. (WHOA!)
- Swim lessons are on hold until it warms up a little.
- We hear about schools THIS WEEK. Fingers crossed we get into ONE.
- Oh and Chase saw a friend being naughty and decided to try it - after 45 minutes of screaming (her) there were loads of tears (Chase, Mads and Me), and finally it ended.
- LOVES her dolly Mezzabelle, she takes her EVERYWHERE.

Madoc:
- WOW. Really coming into her own.
- Has started counting.
- Puts three words together. Says things now that she has come up with on her own ... for example, we entered the house and she said, "shoes off."
- Very much her own person. Knows what she wants, when she wants it.
- Started Mandarin lessons.
- She is IN our first choice school for next year, thank goodness!
- Can draw a face with eyes, nose, ears, mouth, hair.
- Loves puzzles and is pretty good at 9-piece puzzles.
- Loves, Loves, Loves her BABA JOJO (a doll my mom gave her who she has named after our helper)
- Still has problems falling to sleep (this started in October when we took her to the US), but I think she is very close to giving up naps, which will make sleep time much easier.