Surprises from my little man - and the strength he gives me

#1
Last week, in the last week of school holidays, the mother brought the princess out for some fun and the father brought the boy to the movies. I'm ever so thankful to my parents for sharing their precious time with my children, building memories that will forever etch in their minds.

The movie the boys watched was "Finding Dory" - a movie that everyone who's watched it has only raved of how good it is. What struck out to me of the movie outing was the father, sharing with me that the boy was nearly in tears during a touching scene in the movie. I questioned him if he cried because he was happy or sad, and he replied "happy".

My observation is that this little boy is quite a sensitive soul, and he is reached/going through an emotional growth with more understanding of a complex emotion like feeling touched - in this case, he seems to understand that his tears were not because he was sad, but he probably does not understand "touched" per se; but he could express he was happy that Dory was reunited with his family.

#2
On Saturdays, I drop the boy off at his class. During this 2 hours, I sneak off to the gym for some me-time. It's a good use of our time and I have been doing this on-off for several occasions.

Last Saturday, I did this routine and when I picked the boy up, we were chatting idly in the car when this happened.

J: (mumble) Jim good?
Me: Who?
J: your Jim good?
Me: Who is Jim?
J: nooo, GYM! Is your gym good?

...

I was startled for a moment as 2 things struck me.
1) This little boy is listening and aware of my schedule - I do not remember explicitly telling him that I am going to exercise, and I may have. Though it isn't hard to derive this as I am always dressed in work-out gear which he would recognise seeing that he sees me exercising often enough.

2) He's cognizant to ask after me
This really makes my heart melt because why will this little person be keen to know how I am? Such understanding from this 4.5yo amazes me.

As a follow-up, I asked him (was it yesterday?) why he would even ask how my gym session was, to which he replied, "so I can understand!"

#3
This happened just moments ago as I was putting him to bed. I commute with the girl to school (new routine) and this translates into us spending more time each day (additional 45minutes), and it also means that I barely see the boy as I step out of home before he awakens. For the past 2 nights, I have spent some extra time with him to cuddle, and to read him an extra book (he does get to sleep in a bit more than the girl so I shoo her off to bed quicker).

This evening, I laid down beside him for a few moments upon his request, and as I laid down, I said "let's chat for 5 minutes before I go out to do my work". To which his response was "no, you tell me about your work."

Me: ok... mommy has been quite stressed lately.
J: What is stressed?
Me: mmmm, I have been quite worried about my work. Stressed means that I am worried.
J: Why?
Me: (trying to explain simply) because there are a lot of things to think about and I worry what my colleagues will think
J: Who are the colleagues?
Me: The people in my office (pause). Anyway let's talk about (I then find a random matter to speak of - exactly what I cannot recall now)...

I then notice that he is very quiet and I sit up to look at him.

I see that he has tears in his eyes. As I look at his sweet, handsome face, his face crumples and he starts to cry.

What follows is a session of tight hugs and me assuring him that I was not that worried, nor does he have to worry about me. After distracting him with talk of our holiday to Perth, racing cars and tractors, of toys and favourite foods... I manage to leave him in a good enough state to go to bed.

This moment with him has touched me immensely. As mentioned in #1, he seems to be going through an emotional spurt with some sense of understanding, and for him to emote empathy for me, strikes an innate chord so deep and strong I cannot even justify it by putting appropriate words.

My little boy is growing up and to have such amazing moments with him honestly puts a lot of things into perspective. I am going through a muck right now and I want to have these precious moments on record, to remind me that life is more than muck and gunk. There is more for me to hold on to.

It is probably selective attention, but everything that I see or read seems to have some additional significance and I am trying very hard to pluck out the positive association so that I can get myself into a better frame of mind.

I will hold onto my family for strength.

Perth: Day 5, Heathcote Park and Elizabeth Quay

Today marked the last day we were spending with our hosts. We had imposed on them through the weekend and they were so kind as to have taken leave to spend with us to play, and since the household was going back to regular routine (kids to school and adults at work), we figured having some time of our own will work for everyone. On this last morning, the kids awoke and as always, played with one another quite happily. By this day, they had gotten very used to having breakfast (cereal, bread, whatnots) and playing with one another. I loved how they truly got along and were chums.

It was this morning that I got annoyed with the husband. It was not fault of his truly, but I was cranky having to hang the laundry all by myself on top of packing and re-packing the kids and their mess all day and night. It's a small matter only, but I am putting it down on record that on this occasion, I was the smaller person who got easily annoyed over a tiny matter and while the husband dished a line to me that was not entirely pleasant, we did not allow this moment to combust. I felt at this point that I was the only mindful person who was consciously picking up - clothes, jackets, socks, shoes, and it felt highly annoying to do so after 2 little ones - whom I felt was not listening to me. Cue psycho-mom music. I know, it's a holiday and I should just relax but I felt that we were creating a huge mess just by our presence and the least I can do is to neaten the mess we created! Anyhow, I believe this was the only occasion too that we had a tze moment, so not too bad at all.

So, pettiness aside, we decided upon Chinese food for lunch, and arranged for takeaway before we headed to Heathcote Park at Applecross. On the drive over, someone pretty much knocked out for a quick power nap.

Giggles at this tired boy

I have never been there before and it was the most perfect place for a picnic to spend our afternoon! There was an amazing playground shaped in the form of a pirate ship with slides and swings, poles and little crannies that allowed the children to play catch, hide-and-seek... and simply run amok on the structures. Loved it!

Picnic - that's Swan River behind us

Lovely weather - cool winds that cooled us, sun rays that warmed us

HAHA

We bumped into K's classmate!

The Seahs at Applecross, Perth; 13 Jun 2016

I truly had an enjoyable time at the picnic. The atmosphere was relaxed, the kids were laughing and playing, the adults were hanging around chatting under this amazing blanket of blue skies... how fortunate that we had this time to relax and enjoy this way.

After a couple of hours, we decided to head to Elizabeth Quay, since we were relatively near the city already. It's a fairly new refurbishment by the water, on the other side of Swan River. So off we went for (another) pint.

Little Z was asleep in her pram

All of us

That night, we all went back to a simple home-made dinner of mee sua. It was super tasty! The kids were also constantly reminded to go to bed early because the kids had school the next day, and that we would be saying goodbye. I know they felt sad and we consoled them that we would be meeting them for sure in the near future.

That night, the husband and I were also the last ones to go to bed, since there was also work the next day. It was a quiet affair that night. It's also apt that I post this below pic to capture the reality of travel while trying to keep our belongings in a good state - laundry!

Life. This is also the room that kept us comfortable for 5 nights.

On this Monday evening, the husband and I also made a quick trip to the supermarkets to get some Tim Tams that I wanted to get. I'm glad we did it, because we never got another chance to visit a supermarket again! I also remember how, on the stroll to the shops, that I told the husband quite happily that 'we still have another week before work starts!' - and that's how life is. You treasure these moments of being together and build upon the memory banks... and today, 2 weeks later since that day that the husband and I were strolling hand-in-hand, I still remember how cold the winds felt against my face, how I stuck my hand into my jacket pockets to keep them warm, and how the husband was by my side. The children were home - happy to be left there without us - and safe in the comfort of a lovely home, with their new-found companions, with no worries nor care. Little moments, little precious moments are what we should remember because it's these moments that compose our life.

And on this pensive note, I think back on our travels on flying off, day 1, day 2, day 3 and day 4. Blessed am I!

Perth: Day 4, Sunday at Fremantle

It has become a routine for the kids to jump out of bed and seek for their friends. This meant that the husband and I may or may not need to wake up when they do, which was nice. This Sunday morning, the husband woke up and hooray, was no longer in pain! He went to grab Maccas breakfast at drive-thru for everyone and while I tried to snooze, I woke up eventually as the yard was getting too noisy. The children had been fed their Maccas breakfast, and the yard was abuzz with activity as the men decided to prune the trees.

Adults hacking away the tree, little helpers waiting below

Picking up branches

And dragging them out to the collection point outside the house

I loved how such simple activities were refreshing to the children, because we do not have any garden in our home. Plus, I think the fresh cool air does wonders to everyone who feel instantly refreshed and energised to keep moving. This was definitely apparent in how the children were naturals at playing gardeners, helping to clear lots of the branches quite efficiently. After 3 hours of manual labour, we all got ready and prepared for the next half of our day.

Next up on the agenda, was to visit Fremantle on this Sunday. I had arranged to meet some friends today and arranged to meet them at different timings at Fremantle. Lunch was a rowdy affair - not just from us, but also from the place that was bustling with food smells and other patrons.

Food was in abundance (huge portions) and the chilli mussels which we ordered was not as nice as what we had on Day 1. I feel that the experience at Cicerello's is more for the ambience and a must-have since we were already at FreO. It was nice to see our friends too and the kid's highlight was probably the OD of fries plus the gelato they had post-meal.

Meeting with the Tans

After saying our goodbyes, we headed across to the beautiful park for free play.

Crossing the train tracks

They insisted on riding the ferris wheel, only to declare afterwards it was "so boring"!

The boys found their own spot to watch skaters

While the girls stayed at the playground for play... then my gf and I moved to a cafe for some tea. The catch-up was short but it was nice to see my gf's daughter for the first time. When the family visited Perth 6 years ago, I'd only seen her baby boy (then) and she'd also only seen K when she was 6 months old.

Joli and I with our children (her son did not come)

After bidding goodbye, we started to walk to the markets as part of the 'tourist must-do'. Unfortunately, we made it only as far as mid-way when the skies clouded over and it started to drizzle. The weather reports had already forecasted it would rain about 3pm, and given that it was already 4pm before it hit us and we did already enjoy a good part of the day, I was quite fine to not visit the markets after all. Just as well we made the decision because the drizzle progressed quite quickly to rain and we pretty much drove home in gloomy, wet weather.

After the past nights of cooking, we decided to buy in Nando's for the evening to keep things simple. The husbands went for a quick pint at the pub then to grab dinner and our night ended with the usual.

It has been 4 days of casual, semi-planned activities which suited me just fine. The time and stress I'd been experiencing at work had really gotten to me and by this day, I had managed to leave all the baggage behind. I felt extremely thankful that I could be spending my time so leisurely with the loves of my life, and even though we were doing pretty much daily activities, I still felt very happy. I believe that simplicity has its beauty at times, especially when things can get so overwhelming, and I'll like to end this post for the day with a family picture that we took outside a cafe in Fremantle. We didn't take many pictures (I wanted to rest than be busy snapping away always) and it's always nice to have at least a few decent ones - just look at how happy and relaxed we all look! Simple pleasures rock.

The Seahs, at Fremantle, 12 Jun 2016

Perth, Day 3: Dimsum, Carousel and our personal home-concert

Saturday morning rolled along cold but bearable. After a few days of being in Perth, we have all gotten used to the temperature. While it is cold in the night, I got smarter about layering our pyjamas and in the daytime, when the sun is up, it's all really pleasant. For this day, we had planned simple activities only. 

While the kids played in the backyard and I had my coffee perk-me-up (drinking coffee in a cold place just makes it taste so much better!), the two fathers went for a run. By the time they came back, we all got ready to head out for brunch.

All ready to fill our tummies

On the menu was dimsum - we followed our hosts to their surburban option of a yumcha house where we indulged in plates and plates of dimsum. It all pretty much tasted like home, except that some portions were non-Asian-sized (i.e. very big). We left just as the little restaurant was filling up with lunch-goers. 

We then split from our friends and headed to the mall. We headed to the surburban mall Carousel - this mall was brand new when I was in Perth 16 years ago, and while it felt somewhat familiar, I had forgotten most of it. Our first stop was a lazy sit-down for coffee for the husband and I, while the children self-entertained at a little indoor playground right by the cafe. The husband and I then split ways so that we could leisurely shop on our own. It was this afternoon that I managed to do a spot of shopping - very pleased that I got very economical pack-buys (underwear and socks) for K. I didn't have time to buy any for J and I thought I'd get around to another Target on another day (never got around to it, unfortunately). I also had the chance to eat my favourite local cake from Ms Mauds'. After being cooped indoors for several hours, we felt ready to be in the outdoors before the sun went down. We thought of going to a park, but decided to head home to let the children meet with their friends (they kept asking for them as if we had not seen them for yonks). The children ended up playing by the house while I took the chance to go for a run around the hood.

Tricycles, mini vehicles in the cul de sac

After indulging in food the past few days, it felt good to move my body. The perspiration took a while to crack through the pores, and the body needed more time to feel warmed up, but perspire and warm I felt by the 15th minute mark. I don't know the distance I clocked, but I ran for about 40 minutes which felt heavenly. It was about 5pm when I started and by the time I was done, it was just about sunset. I came home all happy, and saw the kids playing with one another. I also came home to a husband who was unwell. He'd been complaining about creaky knees since the night before and by this time, he was in pain. 

Dinner plans for the night was a BBQ at home, so after chef T prepared most of the meat and grill, he brought the husband to a nearby clinic for consultation. While the boys were out, the mommies fed and bathed the children, and waited for the men to be back. We finished our nicely-grilled dinner (with home-made corn mash and potato salad) then watched in amusement as the children made a big fuss over a ladybird that they found.

Examining the ladybird (that was on the piece of paper)

That evening, we settled in the activity room and chanced upon a home concert. It started off innocently with the children singing and prancing about, and when T started playing songs off his speakers, the children ended up 'performing' for the adults. It was hilarious and very adorable to watch them play so innocently and simply - no fuss, no pains, just plain simple play. 

Our budding stars

A funny moment - sheer happiness!

Our nightcap for this evening was quite tame, as the husband was on his medication and could not drink too much, but it was still a nice short session as we finished off the night and felt all happy from the lovely day that we enjoyed.

Perth, Day 2: Swan Valley

After the alcohol that warmed our bodies up suitably, I felt all ready to crash into bed. The husband and I had wanted to wake up at 7am to run - hah! - that did not happen. The cold weather did not help (besides being just tired). The kids did not feel any fatigue, however, and were up promptly (every day actually) - they were very excited to play in this new home, and with their new friends. I loved how they all got along like fire.

When the husband and I did awaken, we decided to hit the local gym (with swimming pool) in the surburb, so off we went. We discovered Cannington Gym that came with a decent gym (hers) and an indoor heated pool (his) so we both clocked about an hour of work out. It took a lot for me to get my body warm and I'm glad that I managed to feel some body warmth and perspiration.

When we got back, the kids were already fed and we were also given our portion of home-made breakfast of eggs, beans, sausages and toast. So pampered!

The breakfast club

After everyone got ready and changed, we were off! Today, we had planned a drive up to Swan Valley for a series of activities that will appeal to the old and young!

Happy passengers

Snooze button hit

Our first stop, Cuddly Farm. This came highly recommended by our hosts, as they felt that the upclose interaction the children will get surpasses just watching animals if we had gone to a zoo or an equivalent. I was not fussed, and upon arrival was quite happy to see how rustic the whole place looked. What made me happier was how the kids were so alive and free to interact and feed with the animals. It was amazing to watch them so carefree and happy!

Upclose & personal with the little animals

There is a table that held little white buckets of feed (carrots, lettuce, veg) and everyone was free to pick them to feed the animals around the whole farm. The keepers kept refilling these buckets the whole time we were there and the kids went crazy feeding the animals non-stop!

At some points in the 2 hours we were there, the keepers also allowed the children to feed the baby animals milk through a bottle. Everyone was very enthusiastic to be part of it all.

Tiny enclosures only

Hello goat

Kid. Both the baby goats and the littlest of the children :P

J & his Kangeroo buddy.
(This pic cracks me up - actually, J was super reluctant to take a pic but he still did
so reluctantly cos I asked him to. I cannot believe that I managed to capture such a lovely
picture afterall! The rest I had were of one grumpy boy really haha.)

Rabbit enclosure

Feeding time

So cute!

Train ride! Loved how it's so simple/basic and colourful.

The above train ride was really very simple - it was a tiny tour around the whole farm (took less than 5 minutes), but what made it cute was how it toured about and the tiny carriages just looked too adorable.

My baby boy and I

Tractor in the playground

Playground play

Rare pic of the husband and I.
Pic credit: J.

Jumping castle fun

By this stage, it was past 1pm and everyone was becoming hungry. We had prepared food of our own, and made the call to leave the farm to have lunch elsewhere, because otherwise, the children would not be able to concentrate to eat. They were way more interested to feed the animals and play than themselves.

We made a short drive to a little tasting bar about 10 minutes drive away. It was quiet (suited us well!) and we set up picnic at the tables. Lunch was croissants (from Coles) with ham/home-made chicken mayonnaise filling. We also had random chips and tim-tams to finish off. So simple, and tasty.

Lunch time!

Of course, the highlight for us adults were the cheap tasting shots at $6/pop!

The happy husband

After filling our tummies with food and drinks, we made a short drive to the nearby chocolate factory.

Family shot

Free chocolate tasters yippee!



Sugar high & silliness post chocolate consumption

I remember the first time I came to this chocolate factory, 6 years ago with my family. Everything felt familiar, yet different. The company was different, the kids are older... and I marvel at how nice it is to have memories to fall back upon; as we add this to our memory banks.

We bought some chocolate+nut concoctions, then decided to hit a winery before heading back. It was a great idea, as we capitalised on the sun still being up, lovely weather and the quiet day. Our hosts mentioned that if we had come to the winery on the weekend, it'd be super packed with people and I can imagine why! Perhaps next time we can come again to join in the crowded buzz.

Amazing sunset

Cheers!

Happy kids

Tree climbing, cos why not?

Playing hide and seek

We spent the last of the sunshine at this winery. The kids played and ran amok, while the adults nursed their drinks and chatted. The weather was amazing, the kids' laughters were so lovely to hear, and I truly felt so blessed and happy to be able to enjoy this moment. The husband opted for a short snooze in the car and when he awakened, we got ready to head back - just in time as the sun had gone down and it was getting chilly.

Dinner for the evening was steamboat, which tasted so good! Perhaps it's the holiday that makes food taste good, but I think it's also the amazing warmth we were hosted with by the amazing T family.

Steamboat dinner

After dinner, we had the usual fanfare of washing the children up, play and putting them to bed. And again, the adults set ourselves up for a round of drinks with chit-chat.

That night, I definitely went to bed with my tummy and heart full of love and happiness.