Bully

I think I did a little boo-boo today :(

There is this angelic looking blonde boy in Lucas' class who is downright mean to Lucas, everytime he sees Lucas. When Lucas wanted to go play with him, he would start "shooting" at Lucas, with full sound effects and runs around Lucas shooting at him. A few times he'd shouted that Lucas is not my friend!

So this afternoon when I dropped Lucas off at school and we were walking in through the gates, along comes this boy and his younger brother and his pregnant mom. Lucas is happily walking to his class, minding his own business when this blondie comes running to Lucas with his brother and he starts his irritating "shooting" sounds again. His mother doesn't seem to care and since they didn't touch Lucas I didn't say anything, even though I was annoyed.

Then, his younger brother suddenly ran forward and with both hands pushed Lucas! My reflex reaction was to raise my voice and say "hey! stop!". All the mother did was pull her son off and gave me a dirty look, like I should not have shouted at her bully of a son.

Should I not have shouted? Should I have smacked that little twerp instead? His own mother doesn't seem to think that he's done anything wrong... Am I being over protective here?

KL and beyond Part 2

Since our trip back to KL, I found that a lot has changed in the past 2 years. KL is more expensive than what I remember, I find that I no longer tolerate traffic jams, the taxis that Lucas and I took are clean and now go by meters though I have to say the meters have surely been tampered with - a one way trip from IKEA back to KLCC cost me RM32.

One thing is for sure - I miss my friends back in KL. I miss hanging out with them, attending dinner parties, going out, watching movies or just the leisurely coffee.
In KL, after we left Grace's, I was feeling a bit unsettled - its not the same when you don't have your own place to go back to. I miss having my own car and my own apartment in KL.
I even miss the thought of going to work, getting all dressed up and ready to face the day.

Lucas' sleep routine went back to normalcy within the first week we got back to France, except now, he wants to sleep with us in our bed. But his sleep hours are fine.
Lucas has also started to attend afternoon classes at school. So now, every morning I send him to school at 9am, pick him up at noon for lunch, then send him back to school at 2pm and pick him up at 5pm.
It was a hard first week, as he was adjusting to going back to school and he also had an infection under his foreskin which hurt; Lucas also would not nap in school during his afternoon class and I was told by his teacher that if he doesn't nap, Lucas cannot attend the afternoon class anymore.
By some miracle, Lucas actually started napping on his 2nd afternoon class. So now he is more adjusted.
I've noticed that in the past couple of days he would disappear into his room to read. He still comes running for a "big hug" but he is not as clingy anymore.

I am still having problems feeding him vegetables - he refuses to touch them! But Lucas is now eating apples, yoghurt and steak hache (hamburger meat). I try to give him a variety but it takes a long time for Lucas to eat something new. He still loves his chicken nuggets, french fries, fish fingers, macaroni and pesto and he eats chunks of cheese. His chocolate intake has been cut down to a chocolate cookie for school and his chocolate milk. Since KL, he has stopped taking his bottle of milk before bed.

As for potty training, I managed to get him to do his ka-ka in the toilet twice before he regressed and asked for his beloved pampers again... Nowadays he uses his pampers only at night (or when he needs to "go"). And I have started putting him on the potty before he goes to sleep to try to get him ready to go without his diapers when he sleeps at night. So far he still pees into his pull ups at night.

Lucas in Bali

At HRC Bali with Nyoman

He loves his chicken crispers!

With nanny Anita

With Aunty Eva & Kieran at Tirtha Chapel

In his Bali Bintang singlet, checking out the handicraft in Kuta

At the lobby of The Istana

Trying to fly his kite

Still trying...

With the locals in a Bali sidewalk

KL and beyond part 1

Its been over 6 weeks since I last blogged, except for the previous one on Lucas' 3rd birthday. In case some of you do not know, Lucas & I have been away for a month, and although we have been back in rainy & cold Tarbes for the past 2 weeks now, I am still feeling out of sorts and maybe a little jet lagged...

On the day Lucas & I left Toulouse for Amsterdam & KL, we'd heard that there was going to be a strike at the airport. Lucky for us we were booked on KLM and could check in online AND choose our seats online 30 hours before departure which was exactly what we did. BTW this route is perfect, the departure time from TLS to AMS is late evening and then we immediately board onto another flight to KL (only an hour's wait at Schipol).

I made a mistake thinking we had a 4 hour wait at Schipol. On top of that I also left my stroller at the cityhopper plane (we had to catch a bus to the main airport) AND lost our boarding passes. After getting all of that sorted out, we had 30 minutes to run to the gates and board the plane to KL! I'd only realize I made that mistake about the 4 hour wait after I got issued the 2nd set of boarding passes.

It was a full, full flight and the seats we got were non reclinable :(

Lucas was too amped up to settle down and sleep so it was a bit difficult the first 4 hours but he finally slept til the plane landed in KL.

The first thing that hit me when my cousin picked us up from KLIA was the heat! In KL, Lucas & I were taking one shower after another because we would literally start perspiring the minute we got out of the shower!

I had planned to stay with friends who have invited us, but in the end we stayed put at Grace & Duncan's. Lucas fell in love with both Grace and Dunc, calling Grace "mama" several times...!

And the apartment was so convenient and so near to another friend, Theresa's place that Lucas could go "hang out" with his buddies Mikhele & Gio when we were not busy shopping.

We had a wonderful time in KL, spending precious time with friends who, inspite of the distance and time apart, remained true.

Bali started with one disaster - a so called friend who had just moved to Bali invited Lucas & I to stay with her - which was why I booked us tickets to Bali for a whole week. A month before our departure she cancelled on us (!!!) stating that she now has a "villa mate" and it was no longer convenient.

But Lucas & I managed to make the best of our extra time in Bali, thanks to our tour guide extraodinaire, Nyoman. He was not only a taxi driver, he was my meal companion, babysitter (he babysat while I went for my mani & pedi), baby carrier whenever Lucas wanted to be carried, shopping bags carrier, he knew the best places to shop and the best place to have nasi bebek! He was also there for us when we had a spiritual encounter in one of the hotels in Seminyak - Nyoman immediately turned back and came to get us and brought us to another hotel. Before that he tried to get a refund from the hotel for us as well.

For those of you who have asked me many times what I saw, I am not actually supposed to talk about it, so suffice to say a shadow flitting in the shower stall's smoked glass is all I can tell you.

The GM of that hotel apparently moonlights as a bomoh, cos he turned up at my room (Luc & I were waiting outside) with a bag of prayer stuff... He knocked at the door and asked for permission before he entered... And yet he denied that there was anything in that room! In fact, I think the whole hotel is haunted, because the GM changed rooms for us, stated that the room is clean AND safe; then said "but I advise you to sleep with all the lights on" (!!!!)

Anyway, next time any of you are tempted to stay in an authentic Balinese hotel, be careful when booking online. The photos are not what they seem. Honestly you are better off booking a Harris Room at the Harris Hotel. Lucas & I stayed there one night - it comes equipped with a living room, a kitchenette, a king sized bed, a kid's club where you can leave your kids there to play, a kid's pool and fantastic staff! All that, for USD78 a night.



Harris Room



Bedroom at Harris

The best time we had in Bali was of course at The Istana in Uluwatu where June's wedding was held. Lucas & I stayed there 5 days and it was truly paradise! I got Lucas a nanny (AUD45 for 12 hours) and I was able to rest a little and even go to the spa.

MY blog, MY voice

This blog is a place where I express my likes and dislikes, things that make me happy or sad or angry. IF you stumble onto my blog and do not like what you read then simply leave this space!

There is freedom of speech in writing my blog, I have been asked to take out some photos and some names because my blog does not put them in a flattering light - but hey, yes the truth hurts! And if you go through my blog, I write about good and bad about my son too - so much so that my own parents are reluctant to take Lucas with them for even a few days as they have been reading my blog and are scared they cannot handle him. So there. I do not embellish my words. As I've said this blog is where I express myself and is the outlet to my inner most thoughts.

And if you can't handle reading my blog, then do us all a favor and stop reading.

Lucas turns 3

My baby Lucas,

How on earth did three years pass us by already? We celebrated your birthday in Malaysia twice, once at McDonalds in Ipoh and another with all your friends in Aunty Theresa's place. I couldn't help but reflect on the day you came into our lives 3 years ago - You are truly mama's miracle baby and one who brings so much joy to everyone who knows you. You are my little social baby, making friends and endearing yourself to everyone you meet.

This past year, as fast as it flew by has been such a fun one for you. You decided not to wait til you mastered English and French, instead you made up your own language and mixed it with both english and french (with bits of Spanish and Mandarin thrown in...) When you are at home, you are such an easy little boy, especially when your favourite DVD is on, but when you are out in any sort of wide open spaces, the chase is on. Friends, family, neighbors and strangers alike will attest to that. We get lots of comments on your high energy, some a bit patronizing, but we wouldn't change your love for life and the world around you for anything! (But I could really do without the chasing after you part)

Despite of your generally happy nature, you've started making such a fuss everytime we put you in bed for your nap! Its as if you feel like you are missing out on something important everytime you take a nap.

You have visited your naughty corner many times this past year and even though your sentence is only a minute, you show your unhappiness at being punished by crying as loud as you possibly can, and then after a while, you come over for a hug, saying "sorry mama".

Since Malaysia, you have become even more attached to your "lovey" and you are now rediscovering your love of brushing your teeth with toothpaste (though you really should not be swallowing the toothpaste and then asking for more).

You love:

Chocolates (especially ferero rocher & M&Ms peanuts) , pizza, chicken nuggets, fish fingers, ice cream, popcorn, chicken rice, milo, nesquik, peanut butter sandwiches, coconut yoghurt, cheese, pesto in your pasta, cream based spaghetti, Mickey, Thomas, watching "UP", Legos and building blocks, Baby Bright & Sesame Street, balls, balloons, cars, swimming, going for walks, cycling with papa, dancing and listening to music, playgrounds and especially the slides, saucisson and apples, Pororo, Dibo the gift dragon and Barney, bubbles and all animals, including birds, worms, bees and spiders.

You still need your diapers to "do the deed" or you can also do without, in your pants... anywhere but the potty! Your best friend is 4 year old Ixchel. You assert your independance these days by telling me what you want to wear and what you do not want to wear. You seem to prefer the company of adults. You can count 1 to 10- in 3 languages! You can also name colors, shapes and sizes, you recognize numbers and alphabets. You know how to work the TV, DVD player and CD player.

You are full of mischief and endless energy. I thank God everyday for such a wonderful baby, a happy and loving baby like you. You are forever mama's boy :)