Four in the family!

They grow up quick!

2009-06-20T03:29:00.001+02:00

Here are a few photos of the girls taken on our last week or so in KL, with compliments from Uncle Steve. Our own more recent photos are still stuck in the camera, but rest assure they'll be posted soon!

Girls love all things that sparkle

The girls dance and play hide-and-seek at Starhill KL (this photo was taken somewhere between Starhill and JW Marriott KL) after some dim sum brunch.

Dinner time!

The girls at our regular and favorite dinner hangout, Yau Tuck Teng... or is it Mo Tuck Teng... can't remember. So much for doing some PR for them. Anyway, it's at the 2nd level of a corner coffee shop right across Secret Recipe at Taman Tun Dr Ismail. And the food is fantastic!

See you again soon, KL!

With suspicious-looking red-haired guy at the KL International Airport when it was time to say goodbye to our family in Malaysia. We'll be BACK!

Sorry

2009-06-15T16:27:00.000+02:00

I've been so slow to update the blog since returning to Japan. We're still trying to settle down, and that involves getting a larger harddisk! I've got so many photos to share, but no where to download them to. From where can I get a 1TB laptop??

Actually, even that will max out in a couple of years.

Back in sushi land

2009-05-28T16:37:00.000+02:00

And of course the first meal we got right after we landed was airport sushi!

We've been back for 3 weeks now and it's still difficult to say that we're fully settled down. More specifically, the girls are still not back to their regular sleeping routine yet, and our apartment still looks part warehouse part toy factory.

The kindergartens within the vicinity are full with long waiting lists (i.e. getting premier tickets to watch that Star Trek movie would be heaps easier) that the city hall officials gave us no hope of her starting kindy this academic year. We're considering the international kindy option. Yes, it'll cost a bomb but we think we should be able to manage if she doesn't go full time.

Our current apartment faces the sea. It's a bit like living on a beach resort except that it's also not. That's because right on the other end of the coast line is the city of Chiba and at night, it glows with lights! It's quite hard to believe that this will be our home for at least the next few months. Is it too much of a good thing? In a few months, we shall see!

Little M is down with impetigo, the poor thing. It doesn't help that she also caught a cold. Bigger M got impetigo at about the same time two years ago so she's immuned... one less thing to worry about. The scabs are finally healing and falling off, and so is the discomfort.

Nihon ryouri

2009-04-28T11:02:00.008+02:00

I love our meal times here in Malaysia! That's when I get to think through the many options we have and come up with something that, at that moment, the stomach feels is superior above the rest. Nasi lemak! Penang laksa! Char kuay teow!

But there was this one day when tummy shouted "Japanese!" Sure, it's a just a couple of weeks more before we can get our hands on seriously authentic Japanese food, but it's quite hard to resist when the kids also join in with your tummy to chant, "udon! udon! udon!"

So we gave in and settled for a pretty decent Japanese lunch here. The best part: it satisfied our year-long craving and yet didn't change our desire for some seriously authentic Japanese food when we return to Japan!

The restaurant: Sushi Zanmai, 1Utama, Bandar Utama.

Hanging out in PJ

2009-04-22T18:04:00.006+02:00

Despite being jet-lagged and sick more than half the time we've been here, we've still thankfully managed to attend parties, hang out with friends, and eat out a fair bit. I think we've had more social activities here this month than a whole year combined in Japan. And it's no wonder that Minori is asking over and over whether we can "ask daddy to come to Malaysia... I don't want to go back to Japan!"

It's an irony. We've heard over and over that the country is unsafe, we hear about all kinds of crimes on a daily basis, well-meaning friends and family tell us that it's "better for the children to be in Japan" ... and yet the people here seem happier. Most people whom we have met, whether friends or just people we bump into in the same apartment elevator or the makcik who comes to clean my mom's apartment once a week have been so friendly and nice, and the girls have picked up on the good vibes.

Could it be that the lack of security causes the people here to take it less for granted and appreciate more the simpler things in life?

Trading outdoor walks and playing in parks with indoor play in PJ, which is cooler (temperature-wise!) and a wee bit safer.

Back!

2009-04-20T12:56:00.003+02:00

I realize our blog is going stale! The last few weeks have been mad so much so that blogging, important as it is, hasn't exactly become a priority.

It's been weeks of packing, moving, battling jet-lag, getting sick, basically just living our crazy and hectic lives! We're now in Malaysia, enjoying a few stormless days finally. Minori is back in the same Malaysian kindergarten she went to last year for 2 weeks. She's been bugging me about sending her to kindergarten since the moment we touched down KLIA. Who would imagine that this is the same girl who would cry her lungs out and then sob in her sleep at nursery a couple of years ago?! English is the medium of communication but she picks up some Bahasa Malaysia and Mandarin too. The kind teachers are full of praise and encouragement for her. She's so blessed to have this Malaysia kindergarten experience.

I bring Marisa to a playgroup once a week. Although she didn't complain the first time around... this is my angel second daughter, remember?... she obviously was more comfortable at the second session. I'm looking forward to our playgroup again tomorrow!

It's so nice to be able to live in familiarity after months (even years!) of being the blur one. I can't say it's complete familiarity... year after year, PJ/KL becomes less familiar to me. But meeting with good old friends and their children, and just being in a sea of familiar faces bring about a kind of comfort that can't be experienced anywhere else in the world, no matter how exotic the location. The novelty wears off.

Passing down our friendship!

Picture of M&M with K&K (Kayden & Katelyn), adorable children of my friends Adeline and Li Hsing.

Fasching

2009-02-14T23:09:00.003+01:00

Minori's kindy celebrated Fasching several weeks ago and it's taken me this long to make a blog entry on it and upload the photos!

For awhile I was in a bit of a fix about what Minori should wear for the party so that she won't feel out of place. Buying her a bulky costume so close to returning to Japan was out of the question... right now, the last thing we need is clothing we wear only once to take up luggage space. I wish I had brought her a kimono/yukata for occasions like this (it did cross my mind before we left Japan but I didn't think she'd be able to walk in it for awhile).

Lo and behold, the day before the party I found these wings and wand at H&M for less than €5! They are light and able fit into our suitcase so we're bringing them back to Japan too!

On Fasching, 90% of the girls in her class came as butterflies, fairies, angels or princesses. With girls, you can't go wrong with wings!

Vienna sightseeing

2009-01-21T22:27:00.002+01:00

Sorry for the stall.

I'm having some problems trying to upload our gazillion photos here so I've put them on Facebook instead. Please click here to get there!

Vienna - Day 3

2009-01-20T22:47:00.002+01:00

Jan 20: We had lunch with daddy at the Naschmarkt. It's a traditional open market with stalls lined up in two to three neat rows for about several hundred meters. Between some of these stalls are built-up restaurants, which is a great idea for winter when people would rather be eating indoors.

Because we've been craving sushi recently and can't get anything decent in Rostock, we ate at a restaurant called Tokori, which serve up sushi, among other kinds of Asian food, although none of the people working there seems to be Japanese. Later we realized it's really not difficult to find sushi in Vienna... many of the run-down take-out outlets have it too. Tokori wasn't great, but was good enough to satisfy our craving for a bit of home.

Karlskirche

Since our apartment is in the city center, the girls and I decided to just check out the area which gave us enough to see for the day. The cathedral near our apartment, for example, Karlskirche, is a magnificent piece of architecture. Although throughout our stay we must have walked past it over a dozen times, each time we do it looks a little different.

A school near Karlskirche. Yes, even schools look this great here!
Faces and heads popping from walls and around arches seem to be a common theme in Viennese architecture.

Vienna - Day 2

2009-01-19T23:40:00.000+01:00

Jan 19: When the girls and I woke up, the room smelled of coffee. There was already breakfast on the table. Daddy had jogged out to a nearby supermarket early in the morning to grab some coffee, milk, salami, cheese, lettuce and a baguette for our first breakfast in Vienna.

Carrie was right at the door just before 10am. She had come all the way from Zurich to spend the weekend in Vienna and meet us. Only a week before she was in the US (Hawaii just days before the Obamas' vacation, Seattle then Portland). Several days after Vienna, she was to leave for KL for the Chinese New Year. Oh and did I mention the day before today, she made a day trip to Slovakia? Where does she get the energy? The kids, she says. Kids that she can play with but do not own. I have not seen Carrie in years but she has not changed. She obviously still puts the Energizer bunny to shame and has retained her million watt smile.

Daddy headed off to work while the rest of us took a train to the Schönbrunn Zoo. We saw pandas, koalas, and more vicious species, and ate chestnuts and potato wedges. The girls barely napped -- with so much to see and zesty Aunty Carrie for company who can blame them?

The Schönbrunn Castle is in the background, right at the end of the row of pines.

Aunty Carrie took the overnight train back to Zurich. We're so thankful that she made this trip to see us. Our fingers are crossed that it won't be another couple of years before we meet again.

Vienna - Day 1

2009-01-18T23:24:00.000+01:00

Jan 18: We left our apartment at the crack of dawn, for the train station for our 2.5hr train ride to Hamburg where we caught the plane heading to Vienna. Arrived in Vienna, took more trains, walked in the blistering cold and slush with two sleepy kids, and found the hotel apartment that we were to call home for the next 7 days. Realized that the apartment is located close to a beautiful church with a magnificent dome but was too tired to find out what it's called. Got to the apartment, pulled out the sofa beds and collapsed into them for a well-deserved nap!

"This uncle"

2009-01-17T00:17:00.011+01:00

Minori became a bit of a Wang Leehom fan after watching him a few days ago on CNN's Talk Asia. She was completely fascinated that:

"He speaks English and Chinese!"

"He plays the guitar and violin and piano!"

"He's just like Leo!" when he conducted the Hongkong Philharmonic Orchestra. To those who don't watch the Disney Channel, Leo is a character in the Little Einsteins who likes to conduct.

Conclusion: "I like this uncle. He looks like Uncle James" (later it was Uncle Steve). <-- time to get either her or my eyes checked.

Note: In Malaysia, children typically refer to someone older as "uncle" or "auntie" out of respect. In Japan, someone around Leehom's age would probably be "oniisan" (big brother) or "oneisan" (big sister).

Wien

2009-01-17T00:03:00.000+01:00

We will finally get our opportunity to see what else is there in this beautiful continent of Europe besides Germany. This weekend, we will all be going with Daddy to Vienna on his working trip.

With all the recent news about the cold winter and limited supply of gas -- I hope Russia and Ukraine sort this out real quick -- I'm hoping for the temperatures to rise above freezing point next week. The weather forecast looks promising and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it will remain that way.

In the meantime, my prayers go out to my friends in the US, especially in the Midwest, who are battling the unexpectedly severe winter conditions. Think warm thoughts!

Bugged!

2009-01-13T16:00:00.004+01:00

Our apologies for not posting much in the last few weeks. The truth is that we've been taking turns to get sick. There seems to be a throat infecting virus/bacteria going around Rostock... we've heard of friends and friends of friends getting it. In our family, the germs have made a complete round and come back to me again. Sick a second time in 2 weeks!!!

As soon as I'm back on my feet and back on track with my photo uploading, I'll set up a decent blog entry. In the meantime, I'm wishing our blog followers better health!

Blessed Christmas!

2008-12-19T23:25:00.000+01:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Greatness

2008-12-12T23:48:00.006+01:00

"I have never been the kind of person who has defined myself by a career or a job... People used to ask me that during the course of the campaign: ‘Is it hard for you to have stepped off the track and devoted your life to his dream?’ But the truth is that I believe in this man as our president, and his vision for the country. And if that meant stepping away from my particular job . . . that’s a small sacrifice to make.”

Michelle Obama, Nov 26, 2008, in her interview with Barbara Walters.

Background from Wikipedia:

Alma Mater: Princeton University, Harvard Law School.

According to the couple's 2006 income tax return, Michelle's salary was $273,618... while [Barack Obama] had a salary of $157,082 from the United States Senate.

I want to dedicate this entry to a friend who has recently been taking a lot of heat for expressing her enjoyment in being a stay-at-home-mom and supporting her husband on the domestic front. As you can see from the universally popular upcoming First Family, staying at home and bringing up your own children is the new cool! :D

Kefir

2008-12-03T23:12:00.006+01:00

Several weeks ago, our friends S&S gave us a few kefir grains and instructions on how to make our own kefir drink. It's funny that they are called grains because they look like cauliflower and are rubbery in texture. Kefir grains are a combination of bacteria and yeasts, like yogurt.

In Japan, I remember watching infomercials on TV about something being similar to, but is even healthier than, yogurt that comes from Russia. I think it was kefir. According to Wikipedia, it is becoming increasingly popular due to new research into its health benefits. Many different bacteria and yeasts are found in the kefir grains, which are a complex and highly variable community of micro-organism.

Making a kefir drink is really quite simple. I just add milk to the grains and leave it to ferment in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours. When we feel like drinking it, I just pour the stuff out into our cups, rinse the grains with cold water, put it back into a clean container, add milk and leave it for another 24 hours or so. It's a little sour, like yogurt, and it's more so the longer we leave it in the fridge. It tastes great with honey though.

The kefir grains keep multiplying so they never actually run out. I'm happy to give some away to whoever who wants to try it!

Why I think MObama is cool #2

2008-11-27T23:32:00.003+01:00

From Barbara Walters Special, Nov 26, 2008, ABC.

Why I think MObama is cool #1

2008-11-27T23:22:00.006+01:00

... and why I think BObama is cool for recognizing and acknowledging it...

From Barbara Walters Special, Nov 26, 2008, ABC.

Say "Cheese!"

2008-11-26T11:24:00.001+01:00

Marisa finally gets her own toothbrush (in pic: the green one on the left).

For weeks now, she would observe Minori brush and then open her mouth for daddy to brush hers too! When we finally got her her own toothbrush yesterday, she knew exactly what to do and how to use it.

She still only has got four little pearly whites, but they will clean little peraly whites!

Minori is 3 and a half!

2008-11-13T23:27:00.004+01:00

The older sister started going to a German kindergarten about 2.5 months ago. Everyone there speaks German so she's really picking up the language. The kindy experience is also great in the sense that she's so much more independent. She is now capable of dressing herself up, putting her shoes on, brushing her teeth (we still do a brush over after that) and going to the toilet on her own.

At home, whenever she's willing I try to get her to help out with some of the household chores, like laying out the table for dinner, putting the dirty dishes into the dish washer, hanging out the clothes to dry, and watching her baby sister. I think her favorite is helping to bake -- and afterwards, eat -- what she calls "corn flakes cookies."

She's become technologically savvy too (aren't all kids these days?!). It's amazing that using a TV remote control is so instinctive to her (and her 13-month-old sister!). So is turning on the CD player, Skyping, watching videos on YouTube (she knows how to get the videos to Full Screen!) and manipulating the electronic dictionary. In this photo, she types her own name into the dictionary to find out what it means.

Here's a picture of Minori and her own little walnut cafe! Not sure whether she'll be the little helper or competitor to her uncle when we return to Japan.

Marisa is ONE

2008-11-11T23:39:00.003+01:00

This entry is long overdue. Marisa turned one on Oct 7.

It's amazing how quickly her first year went by (with the packing, moving, traveling, adapting, etc.). Still, watching her achieve her milestones has been and is still extremely fascinating. It never gets old, even when we've seen it before.

Marisa started walking at 11.5 months old. Now at 13 months, she's running. Once the passive one, she now knows how to exert her will, sometimes a little too loudly (thanks to the example shown by her older sister *sigh!*). Just several days ago, she unexpectedly said "real" words, like "apple" or "Elmo" and stunned us all! Like I said, it never gets old.

Dancing seems to be a passion at this stage. Her favorite tunes are in the Mary Poppins soundtrack, and more recently in tourism TV commercials of exotic places like Montenegro, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan. I think she likes the ethnic drum rhythms. This morning, she did some fancy footwork that looked like salsa to a South African commercial on CNN! I rolled on the floor laughing when I should have grabbed my videocam instead!

It's amazing... the places she's been before she turned one. Berlin is a good example. More on that in another entry!

Extreme make-over!

2008-10-14T11:40:00.019+02:00

BEFORE

40+ year house that was passed down from one generation to another
a favorite parking spot for cyclists who needed to hop onto trains at the nearby station but didn't want to pay for parking
the piece of land received many unreasonably good offers during the bubble economy in Japan but no one in the family had the heart to sell it
daddy used to say: "we're just waiting for the earthquake or typhoon to bring it down," but the house withstood almost everything, so they had to do something before somebody got hurt!

AFTER

Several days ago, my dear friend (and a wonderful photographer and cook!) Hani took this picture of her family at that same spot. The place has transformed into something worthy of visit from someone living all the way in Yokohama! It is now a 6-floor apartment with a cozy little cafe on the 1st floor.

* Hani, thanks for letting me use this photo! I love it... your boys intently looking at one direction (presumably at something that interests only boys) while Aimee-chan is just happily sleeping in her stroller!

BEFORE (2002)

There were always persimmons in the house. The persimmon trees that grew in the garden had the sweetest fruit. This one was over-ripe, but still good!

AFTER (2008)

We'll be seeing less of persimmons now and more of coffee... and tea and rare cream cheese cake and pudding and walnuts. Kurumed Cafe ("kurumi" is Japanese for walnut) opened on October 1, 2008 to serve up specialty coffee. Owned by my brother-in-law, this place, I was told, features a fancy interior and a cozy environment for families with children. Hani said that her family enjoyed themselves!

BEFORE (2002)

AFTER (2008)

That person in the 'Before' photo still bums around the place like this... some things you just can't make over.

New blogger format, Obama, etc.

2008-09-29T10:22:00.000+02:00

Gosh I really need to get used to this new Blogger format. I thought I have made several new entries and now I'm not sure to where they have gone.

We've been closely following the American presidential race and the fact that Minori can say and recognize Obama and HClinton even before she even turned 3 proves it (is it too early to tell that she's a non-American Democrat?). With Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, a candidate's wife that looks like Barbie, an ex-beauty queen running mate thrown in, it's just so full of drama and fun. At least more so than the political scenes from our countries. Besides there's no underestimating how much impact the American president (and First Lady) can have on the rest of the world. Was it an ex-French premier who said that the foreign community should also have a say as to who the next American President should be?

Yesterday while cleaning up after breakfast I casually asked DH who he'd vote for if he were an American, and he replied "Obama" without any hesitation. This is coming from someone who 90% of the time either tries to sound tactful by not taking sides or to refuse giving an answer.

In our household we vote for integrity. And even a preschooler knows who has it.

In memory of our beach time...

2008-09-14T23:17:00.001+02:00

Summer has officially ended :(. Actually with daily lows of below 10 degrees, it's starting to feel like winter.

Here are a few pics we took over summer of Warnemunde, a touristy beach town about 20 minutes by train from where we live. It overlooks the Baltic Sea right across Sweden and Denmark. We were there practically every weekend that was not rained out.

There's more to Warnemunde than surf, sand and sea...

You can tell just by looking at her face that her heart skipped a beat as she came down this long and steep slide!