The first day at kindy

We got back from Japan via Hong Kong a few hours later than we planned as we got bumped off twice :( Luckily there are lots of flights between HK and Singapore...

The boys were very tired but they were both keen to go to kindy the next morning.  

It was Luca's first day at GSCK - he is in pre-nursery with lots of new friends. Here is a very proud boy who had no problem whatsoever! 

Oliver was pretty excited to bring his little brother along too. From this year he is in K1. Suddenly he looked more grown up. 

When I picked them up Luca wasn't crying or anything but he was very happy to see me :) I asked him what he did but the answer?  "I did nothing mummy!" 

There are 20 kids in his class and they are separated into two groups. They mainly do some English and Chinese during their school hours. Let's hope he will enjoy all the activities offered to him. 

While they boys were at kindy Ashley and I had a very relaxing morning. We certainly had to recover from our trip back. It has been a crazy travelling season for us!

(Thanks for her Mickey, Saskia and Hamish! She loooves him. Especially his tail)

We are now back into our routine. We are not really planning to go away except for their school holidays this year as Oliver will miss too much and will have to work even harder to catch up. 

The usual catch up

This is getting very much like "the things we do while we are in Japan".
Chie, Chisa and Keito came to visit us on the coldest day in Osaka for the month. It was actually snowing a bit in the morning.



Unfortunately the snow didn't stay on the ground for the kids to play with but they were happy running in the backyard.

It was too cold for us to go out and supervise them so instead we enjoyed some bubbly and snacks.



We always enjoy having them around. It's very low key, they bring food, drinks and dessert and entertain themselves :)



Chie needs someone to drink with and we have been lucky to have Matthew for the last three times they visited. It was wonderful to see you guys! Thanks for coming.

Playdate with Japanese friends

We managed to organise a playdate for the boys on one weekend. There are 4 boys at the Japanese kindy that Oliver has been good friends with. They all know Luca very well and are always fond of him. Unfortunately one of them couldn't make it but we just ran out of time to set another date.

We met up at one of the shopping malls near our house for a quick lunch first:

Then we sent the kids to an indoor playground. They just couldn't get enough of chasing each other. We took Yuzuki along to keep things under control and it was the best thing! Us mummies and Matthew (and Ashley) had a good time chatting while we watched the boys.  

 



We had some occasional tears but it all went fine. By the end of 2 and a half hours they were exhausted!



I really hope they will remember each other and we can see them again when we go back.

More cuddles

Ashley and I were so lucky to spend such precious time with grandma during the day in peace. No one else at home so we could chat, watch TV, eat nice cakes etc etc.

Grandma really enjoyed cuddling Ashley. I think Ashley loved being in her arms, she was just happy sitting there :)

Nabe night

I love having visitors at our Japanese house. It makes me feel like it is actually our house! Shem was operating a flight to KIX and his wife Naz came along for a 3 day visit. We had traditional Japanese winter food, nabe, together. Nabe is a Japanese word for steam boat, you cook everything in a big pot on a gas cooker as you eat. It is a very social way of having a meal and we love it. Shem and Naz seemed to enjoy it too :)

After the dinner, we sat in our Japanese table with a built in heater (called kotatsu) to keep us warm and enjoyed our evening

It was a very relaxing catch up. Thanks Shem and Naz for dropping by.

Back to Japanese kindy

Grandma was supposed to be with us only until after the NY but my uncle contacted mum and told her that they were busy and could not come and get her until the 17th. We didn't mind at all, the longer we could spend time with her the better!

But one problem... After the 6th everyone went back to work and I was left in the house with 3 kids and Grandma. She doesn't need full time care or anything but someone has to help her to get food and drinks and go to the loo.

I just couldn't see myself relaxing in the next 10 days so I rang the boys' old Japanese kindy and asked if they could take them only for 10 days. They were so nice and happy to take them back.

The school bus came to the door to collect them and they played with their Japanese friends all day. They provide school lunch and make them nap in the afternoon. What else can I ask for?
It was just the perfect activity for them in the cold Japanese winter!



Luca not so much but it only took Oliver a couple of days and his Japanese was good as gold. I hope they get more chances to attend their Japanese school next time we visit.

Day out with grandma

Grandma really loves her outings. We have done a few mall visits with her. Whenever Mako is off we take her out. It is good we have big shopping complexes near our place.

This time Mako and Grandma browsed around the shops while I took the kids to see the Ampanman show.

There were so many people! We could hardly see them:







Afterwards we met up at my favourite donut shop for afternoon tea:



I am so happy she is full of energy and loves all the food!

With their New Year money

In Japan the kids get New Year money called otoshidama. Our kids got spoilt and got so many envelopes this year. I normally put the money into their bank account but this year I left some and let the boys spend some of it.



The boys had too much energy in the house so Mako kindly took them to the mall. They were so proud they had their own money to spend. AND they could pick whatever they wanted!

I just couldn't stop laughing when they got back. Oliver picked a small box of chocolate and had lots of change still to spend on the next visit. On the other hand, Luca got the biggest dried fruit bag you could find in the shop and came home with almost no money...

 

New Years Day 2014

We had a very nice New Years Day with everyone coming around for breakfast and lunch. I just ate endlessly... Yummy - mum's rice cake dishes, Osechi (special Japanese bento boxs for NYD) and more. 

Osechi is normally prepared on the previous day so that you don't need to do any cooking on NYD. And everything in it should keep for up to 3 days. Each dish has a special meaning to it, for example, healthy living, long life etc. If you are interested you can read more about it here. 

I think the tradition is changing now (in my family anyway).  My parents used to made our own Osechi ourselves but now mum orders a gourmet one from a fancy restaurant. They are not cheap tho, these sets we got were almost $200 SIN!

My cousin Kenji and his family came over from Wakayama. We had 10 adults and 9 kids!! it was a FULL house! 

Ashley looked so cute in her New Year outfit :)

The rest of the day was quite relaxing, the kids played together outside and us adults sat on the sofa and had a few more drinks. Such a great family gathering, I loved it! 

Joya no Kane 2013

I like experiencing Japanese customs and traditions. And I would love our kids to know lots of them as they grow up. Joya no Kane is one of the traditions we participate in when we are in Japan on New Year's Eve. To be honest until we bought the house just across from this temple I have never done one. Our family used to go to the shrine instead (I am not sure why that was the case - my family is non religious).

The bells are rung 108 times as according to Buddhism it is said that man has 108 troublesome desires, and by hearing the bells toll 108 times people can rid themselves of such desires at the end of the year.

We went over with our next door neighbours the Umeda family. I was very surprised to see their little ones were still very awake. Our ones of course were all fast asleep.

We were one of the first ones to be there so we didn't have to queue up long. It was an extremely cold night...





This poor guy was sitting on the cold floor counting how many times the bell has been rung by putting stones into a hole.

    

Mei did a good gong all by herself!



Matthew was there too!



When my turn was over I was approached by a familiar face. He was in my primary school class! After 30 something years he could still recognise me. I have seen his mother every now and then in the shopping malls over the last couple of years and knew his sister was in Singapore. So I asked him about her and she happened to be at the Temple too. Their family holds their ancestors tomb in this Temple so they gather inside the Temple at the end of the year. We were invited to be part of the actual chanting and were offered special drinks etc.

I had a good chat with her and found out she lives very close to us in Singapore and has a boy who is the same age as Oliver. It was such a strange reunion but I instantly made another mummy friend in Singapore :)