Look it’s Mummy coming !

Waiting for pizzas at Costco

R and I were sucked in by the hype of giant American sized Costco pizzas and decided that we would grab one for dinner one day. Today was the day and I found myself wearily waiting in line for my pizza and hoping that the cranky Saitaomei wouldn’t act up. She’s knee deep in terrible two behaviour lately and whilst she doesn’t go into meltdowns like Saitaoha did, she is generally whiny, cries at a drop of a hat and is very demanding.

I kept sneaking peeks at them from behind, and to my amusement, we had eye contact and the kids starting laughing and clapping. I realised they were playing a game of spot the mummy and taking turns to say ‘Look! It’s Mummy! Mummy’s coming!’ then clapping their hands in delight.

Other patrons in line were amused at their happy clapping and laughs. At one point the ‘It’s mummy!’ changed to ‘Pizza! Pizza!’ chanting and claps and I wondered whether the staff felt any pressure to churn out the pizzas faster.

At that moment I felt truly blessed to have such lovely affectionate kids that are so delighted at the mere sight of their mummy. I know this will not last forever and one day I may cease to be the most important person in their lives, but for now, it is so humbling to be the love of the life of my girls. Saitaoha says ‘but I will miss you mummy!’ when I’m gone for 5 minutes, they give me kisses and hugs and tell me they love me, they fight for my attention and to sit next to me, Saitaoha pretends to be my hairdresser and brushes my hair till it’s sleek and shiny everyday. My beautiful, vibrant daughters shower me with love and affection everyday, something that I’m not sure I deserve but I’m grateful for. It’s golden days with the girls. I am truly lucky.

Grateful days

COVID hasn’t been easy but I’ve mostly been grateful. Grateful to still have a job, grateful to have my family close by, grateful to be able to spend more time with the kids and husband, grateful that life has slowed down and allowed me to restart an exercise regime.

But mostly I’m grateful for this.

Playing with Saitaomei and her new cubby house.

Coffee barista or tea lady?

Evenings at Gung Gung and Mah Mah’s

Hogging the yoga mat but no sign of moving

Finally getting up!

Not bad. Single leg planking.

Happy to get out but she didn’t know it was for her flu shot! Was easily bribed with a jellybean though.

Boo!
Endless rounds of hide and seek. They never tire of this classic game.

Child labour.

They both scrambled up on the dinner table once they realised I was going to peel eggs. Both did a good job 👍. Saitaoha said ‘mummy, we are big girls now. We can help you.’ It was both touching and heart wrenching at the same time. They’ve grown so much and really are big girls now. But I wish they were my babies forever.

Ahhhhhh…..

R: know what this is?

Me: err icecream stick?

R to Saitaoha: Saitaoha what is this?

Saitaoha: Tongue depressor

R: (laughs) haha icecream stick ….😂

Me: wah Saitaoha so smart

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair. – Charles Dicken, Tale of two cities

Happy Mother’s Day

Daitaoha 4 years 2 months old

I had one of the best Mother’s Day yet! I was a bit worried that it wouldn’t be a good one because I’ve been having bad migraines so I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to cook Mother’s Day dinner for Ah Ma. But it all cleared up today and I’m feeling much better!

Saitaomei didn’t get the memo that it was Mother’s Day though and kept getting up and whining throughout the night. I ended up sleeping in because I was so knackered, but R woke me up with a coffee that he made for me! What a nice way to wake up.

We had a quiet day at home, did some homework with Saitaoha and realised that I’m not a very good teacher. I knew I wasn’t teaching her in the right way and was being way too impatient, but frustration got in the way and I ended up sending her to sleep before trying again after her nap. Poor girl is not well and has a bad cough. I know that this will eventually spread through the family and I will be down in the dumps again sigh.

Hand made flowers and a sweet card

Back to better things! I received a lovely present from R, necklace and earrings and Saitaoha had already given me my hand drawn card as early as last week haha. Both girls gave me big hugs and wished me Happy Mother’s Day, Saitaomei knew it was an occasion of some sort and kept wishing me happy birthday too haha.

Chirashi for dinner

HC treated us to sashimi for dinner and we had yummy bowls of chirashi for dinner. It was sooo delicious and worth skipping meals the whole day (not intentional).

I think Ah Ma liked our present of an iPad mini, she is a gadget fiend and very tech savvy. I know some think Mother’s Day is overhyped but I personally love it that there’s a special day in the year where we can show gratitude and love towards our Ah Ma. I hope Ah Ma felt loved and knows that we appreciate her a lot.

R and I have had our ups and downs over the years but surprisingly COVID has been a good time for us because we are standing strong together during tough times and also enjoying more time together and with the kids.

Today was another one of those days when I felt really contented with my loved ones and my life in general.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the wonderful mothers that I know and especially to my super Ah Ma/Mah Mah 💕💕💕.

Getting into a groove

It feels like the week has just flown by! I don’t even recall what I did, just lots of time with the kids and husband, pretty much stayed at home with a bout to the supermarket every now and then.

Salted egg yolk chicken

Working from home is great because I get to cook a lot more and even have time for a daily workout. It’s been ages since I’ve had an exercise routine and I’ve missed how good it makes you feel afterwards. My body aches as it’s been lazy for so long but I feel stronger everyday. I’m hoping I can keep this going even when I return to work in the office in the future. I know it will be difficult because I’m usually so busy with the kids and dinner prep when I’m back from work, exercise time is really an indulgence for me. So I’m going to make the most of it while I can.

The kids enjoy exercising with me! They’re so cute especially mei mei who says ‘mummy what are you doing?’ then proceeds to copy my movements and says ‘look mummy I do it!’. The only problem is they hog my yoga mat so I end up being in the floor :(.

School term opens

School is open again but we are keeping the kids at home till the COVID situation subsides. It’s been fun and interesting doing the online classes with Saitaoha, I like seeing how she is usually taught by her teachers and it’s always nice to teach a child who loves learning.

A lot has changed in the past few months but I think we are starting to get into a comfortable groove. I feel like we’ve had a break from the hustle and bustle of our busy lives. A forced break with some not so nice consequences but nevertheless, it’s been a relief to slow down and breathe for a change.