Big surprise in Bangkok

Our trip from Singapore was uneventful but when we arrived in Bangkok, what a surprise awaited us! We entered our hotel room to find a big, surprise party organized by...nonna and nonno who flew from Toronto to celebrate Papa's 40th with us. Several Italian cousins and Thai friends were there too as they live in Bangkok. The food was incredible...all Italian nibblies. Nonna and Nonno also brought many treats from Toronto to make it a very special (and allergy-free party)!

Thanks so much for such a special 40th which will never ever be forgotten. What a great example for Frunty and Pit of how fun spontaneity can be as Nonna and Nonno booked at the last minute!

Bangkok and Phuket: Part II of Papa's Birthday!

Tonight we are heading to Bangkok, Papa's birthplace, for a few days before flying to the island of Phuket to rest. It is part II of Papa's birthday. Monsoons have just hit Phuket and there were pretty serious floods. I mean, the wheels on trucks were under water in pictures we saw but we are hoping all of that is a thing of the past and we can enjoy some sunny, dry days at the beach! If not, we'll be happy to help the locals sweep our their shops/homes/restaurants etc.

It'll be fun visiting the Italian relatives in BKK who have some restaurants. We look forward to catching up with family and old friends like Khun Pakorn whom we visited in 1997! This time last year, I took the boys to Krabi, Thailand where we had great fun and were lucky with missing the worst of the monsoon weather. Let's hope the same is true this year!

Dancing at TPS

For Teacher's Day, our dance troupe performed a Jai Ho, bollywood dance. It was quite fun and somehow, I managed to perform and enjoy the experience to the fullest despite having a fever! I came home afterwards and slept about 16 hours! When I was dancing, I was thinking about all the teachers in the world, myself included. Most of us try so hard to, as the principal said in her speech, "make a difference."

Afterwards, the part of the principal's speech which affected me the most was when she said, and I paraphrase,

there was a time when a student's character was more important than his/her grades.

I recalled the moms who sat around talking yet again about their childrens' grades and about the last test and the next exam. I remembered how one mom came very late to dance practise because she was phoning her family in India about the latest test "scores". Each time, I smile and congratulate. Until the teacher comes up to me after a performance and says, "Frunty did not do so well on his tests". Then I smile but inside, I crack.

I don't expect, "nice dance!" after I have sweated through the performance with my fever. But I also don't expect talking about test scores during a party. Enough is enough.

This morning, I phoned a mom to coordinate a get-together in Phuket only to be reminded that our children must study during the break. And then, the admission. Her son got almost perfect test scores because she got her hands on (purchased?) some previous tests which had, she said, "the exact same questions."

Frunty- you studied hard. We helped you balance your studies with sports and play time, travel and adventures. In my eyes, you did well because you juggled everything to the best of your abilities with the pressure you face. A classroom packed with competitive students and a very loud fan that makes teachers have to yell while teaching. You came home and worked on and off-line. I am proud of you regardless of your scores. NEGU. Never ever give up.

Yesterday, after the party, one of Frunty's classmates also ran over to me.

Jeffrey: "Hi, Mrs. S."
Me: "Hi, Jeffrey! How's it going?"
Jeffrey: "Got really good test scores, lah. F not good."
Me: (silence) "Well, good job! See you later, Jeffrey."

How he found out Frunty's test scores, who knows? I do know though that I am going to have to calm down. And keep dancing in the face of fire.


Click on:

Tampines PSG - Teacher's day dance

Shitoryu Karate Association

Frunty and Pit have started karate in Singapore! Frunty and I had started last year at another association but it only offered a late night Thursday class which was too exhausting come Friday. And it was so hot, I could hardly stand up!

Now that Pit is 6 years old, we thought it would be fun for both boys to do karate together and luckily found a class which offers classes for 6-12 year olds. (adults are not able to join in but that is okay!)

For part of the 1.5hours, all children are together and at other times during the lesson, they break into groups depending on the colour of the belt. Frunty and Pit had a great time and look forward to tomorrow's class. I thought the senseis were really nice and professional. The dojo has fans and soft flooring!

We celebrated their first karate session by going to Little India afterwards for lunch! Gambatte, boys!

p.s. I was very impressed by Pit who got over some initial stage fright and then really enjoyed the class! Good job, brave one! And thanks to Frunty for helping Pit through his first karate experience! You're a fantastic big brother!

Photos from Papa's 40th!

Chinese musicians serenaded Papa with the Happy Birthday song as Pit handed our "VIP guest of honour" a glass of rose upon arrival. Welcome to Marina Bay Sands and happy 40th, Papa! Just don't swim over the edge because you're 57 floors up! Thanks for a wonderful gift from Gramma, Grampa and Nonna and Nonno!

Birthday Celebrations! Papa's 40th!

This has been a spectacular year of birthday celebrations with Pit swimming on the Great Barrier Reef and riding a helicopter for the first time and Frunty and I running around like natives on our own Robinson Crusoe island near Mission Beach. It was pretty hard to top those three days but alas, we did it and all thanks to Gramma and Grampa and Nonna and Nonno!!!

We started celebrating Papa's 40th on the 18th of August with a special dinner with balloons, banners and bubbly. The next day, Papa enjoyed a scavenger hunt set up by the boys followed by phone calls and skyping with all the grandparents and the Peacocks. Papa and Frunty headed down to the office which gave Pit and I time to get ready and Ailene time in the kitchen making our allergy-free cake. (Frunty had the day off from school so Papa took him to the office. Both left in their ties with brief cases! Too adorable!) At 3pm, Pit and I waited in the lobby at the Marina Bay Sands for Papa and Frunty to arrive!!!

Yes, you read correctly! THE MARINA BAY SANDS!!!!!!!!!! One of Singapore's most special hotels which has become a world class symbol of luxury on this small, southeast Asian island.

As Papa and Frunty entered the lobby, Pit and I handed them a glass of rose and a glass of fruit punch and the group of Chinese musicians played, Happy Birthday! Papa and Frunty thought they had come to the Marina Bay Sands for a rooftop picnic but luckily, we had rented a room grace aux grandparents! I write "luckily" because when they arrived there was a big storm and it would have been hard to picnic in that inclement weather.

We made our way up to Tower 2, Club room 4552. We got upgraded from a premium room to a club room because I showed Papa's passport during check in and notified them that it was his 40th. Nice! Sweet! Up in the room, we all danced around in merriment and quickly headed up to the rooftop in our swimsuits!

We came back down for sushi, bubbly and a cake with 40 candles and 4 sparklers. It was pretty funny in the bathroom when Pit tried to help me light all the candles. When he blew out his match, he accidentally blew out a whole bunch of candles. You can imagine that Papa, who had been waiting so long in the dark, eventually turned on the light and started reading a magazine until Frunty ran in and turned off the lights again! We sang happy birthday and freaked Papa out a bit with the cake on fire! No worries! We jumped around with the balloons and then Papa and I took turns going to a bar to redeem our free coupon for a cocktail while the other watched the wee ones.

After the Kuta de Ta cocktails, we got back into our swimsuits to enjoy a night swim which is always a huge highlight!!! With an incredible view of the city, we enjoyed every minute.

The next morning, we headed up to the gym but kids were not permitted unfortunately. I took a sauna/steam room and hot tub...oh what a life...and later met Papa and the boys back in the rooftop pool. I asked for late check out which gave us lots of time to have a light breakfast, watch a Tom and Jerry movie and read newspapers...all with the beautiful view of Singapore below us in our luxurious, club room.

We did not want the fun to stop after checking out so we jumped into a cab and headed to Cafe Iguana at the Clarke Quay for quesadillas and a jug of margheritas! What a fantastic, little Mexican place. We took our time walking back to our hotel to pick up our luggage and headed home in a pretty ritzy, black Chrysler 300. Only the very best for Papa! Somehow, it was 5pm by the time we got home and what did Papa find!? A huge basket full of various types of champagne from the Peacocks! Too generous! But hey, Papa! You are worth it!

Happy 40th, Papa! Love from all of us who think you are super chouette! And thank you to everyone who generously helped make Papa's birthday so very special! You can see from the photos how much fun we had on the "top of the world"!

The Eve of Papa's Big Birthday!

Tonight the boys and I decorated Papa's chair with balloons and hung up birthday banners! All on the eve of Papa's big birthday! Papa came down for dinner and the boys serenaded him with their own show and we toasted Papa!! Tomorrow, more surprises are in store! The boys put on several dance spectacles too. They are too hilarious. And then, Frunty and Pit's new friend, Jack, ran over and invited us over to have some cake as it is his birthday!! You'll see some photos of Jack and his mom, Robin, and their dog, C.C. from the other day. By the way, it's cousin Izzy's birthday today too! She's a teenager now! And tomorrow is my cousin, Kirsten's birthday and my friend, Bev's. And my aunt and uncle's anniversary. But I digress! We grabbed our gift for Jack that we luckily had prepared for a welcome-to- Singapore surprise and dashed on over. It was sweet how the boys sat up on Jack's top bunk and played with Pokemon cards. They are all adorable and we hope that Jack, who has been here for two weeks, has a great memory of his first double digit birthday! All the best!!! And to Papa! Wait til you see what is in store for you tomorrow! Sweet dreams and can't wait to post the celebration photos on the 19th! Well, maybe I'll be too busy having fun and post them on the 20th!!! Stay tuned...