Putting Up The Tree

We will be spending Christmas this year in Beijing and I certainly hope that it would be a white Christmas. The temperature has already plunged below zero but snow is slow this year. However, Christmas is still a week away and there is hope yet.

I packed my 7 foot Christmas tree from Malaysia when we shifted over to Beijing last year and we opened up the box to put up the tree last year, we  found that the stand for the tree was damaged in the shifting. Hence, we have not tree in Beijing last year.

The new Christmas tree that we put up this year in Beijing ..

This year, since we are staying put in Beijing for Christmas and no Christmas is complete without a tree, we went out to buy a new one. We were told that they were much cheaper here but we have no idea how cheap they really were until we got ours. We bought a new 5 footer with fiber optic lights, just like the one we had, for only RMB150 (RM75)!!! I remembered that we bought ours back in Malaysia for RM400 (RMB800) at a special discount and we had to drive all the way to Petaling Street to get it!

This would be the first year that Chenya could help in decorating the tree and she had fun, both helping and fighting with her brother while helping of course. Daddy was busy in putting up the ornaments while mommy was busy with the camera (or busy figuring out how to use the camera).

We also bought a Christmas wreath to hang on our door for the very first time. I have always wanted to buy one and hang on our doors for so many years but they were so so expensive back in Malaysia that I could not bear to pay the price to buy one. After much bargaining, of which my better half is pretty good at, we managed to get one that we like for a steal. Only RMB70 (RM35)! 

In fact, when Ryan had a Christmas party in school last week and we were asked to contribute some food, we contributed a similar tree instead of food, so that the children could put up the tree and hang up the ornaments themselves. And the tree can be used for a few years to come and we told the teachers that it would be a cool idea to get the kids to write their names and year and hang it up on the tree. Hence, over the years, they can actually see ornaments belonging to different kids who have been to that class previously.

More of that and pictures in the next post.

Breakfast with Minnie Mouse

Disneyland is famous because of her STARS! Yes. There would be no Disneyland if there was no MICKEY MOUSE to start it all years ago. What is Disneyland without the lovable Minnie Mouse, the amusing yet irritating Donald Duck, the pretty Daisy Duck, the ever faithful Pluto and of course the forever goofing around Goofy!

 Pluto got hold of Mommy and Ryan ...

Ryan goofing around with who else ....GOOFY!

Over the years of course, we grew up with the seven dwarfs (Can you name all seven??), the charming Snow White and her wicked step mother. Then there was Dumbo the flying elephant and the ever youthful Peter Pan and his arch enemy, the sinister Captain Hook. Of course there was the tiny Thinkerbell.

 Ryan managed to `cornered' Captain Hook as he made his round from table to table

We grew up with so many fairy tales in our childhood and they all live happily ever after. Never mind if that is far from the reality that we lived in but these are the very stories that formed our childhood dreams. As a boy, we dreamt of being that hero, while the girls dreamt of being Snow White, being swept off their feet one fine day by their Prince Charming riding on his white stallion. 

As more Disney's movies rolled out over the years, we have Shimba and the wise baboon Rafiki from the Lion King, the characters from Madagascar and Winnie the Pooh and his friends.

 Ryan with Rafiki, the baboon from Lion King

On nights that we were lonely, how many of us secretly wished for a visit from the ever doting Fairy God Mother, who would take away our tears and make all our wishes come true.

 Ryan getting his hug from the Fairy Godmother ..

Therefore, it is not surprising that a visit to Disneyland would NEVER be complete without hugging one of your favorite characters.

How about having your breakfast with them as they drop by one at a time, giving you a hug and taking time for you to pose for a picture with them.

 With the bouncing and ever joyful Tyger from Winnie the Pooh.

Ryan even got the Big Bad Wolf to practice Chinese Kungfu with him ..

With Pinocchio, the mischievous puppet that always wanted to be a boy

Yes, we did exactly that. We had a breakfast with Minnie and her Friends at the Park Inn within the theme park. Although the price for that buffet breakfast was rather expensive, at USD35.99 (RM120) per person, but it presents the opportunity for the little ones to hug and interact with the different Disney characters that drop by. Expensive it might seemed, but if you are thinking of doing this, you got to ensure that you make your reservation as early as possible because the restaurant is constantly packed to the brim.

 Even mommy can not resist the temptation and the chance to realise her childhood dream, having her picture taken with Minnie Mouse ...

 Getting a hug from Dale, one half of the ever joyful to watch chipmunks, Chip and Dale

This probably has to be one of the most expensive buffet breakfast we had but judging from the smiles, grins and laughter we all had, especially from Ryan, I must also said that this is also one of the HAPPIEST breakfast we had.

And of course, how can Ryan leave Disneyland, the Happiest Place on Earth without having his picture taken with the that one iconic STAR who had started it all, MICKEY MOUSE himself.

 And he is, the main STAR of Disneyland, MICKEY MOUSE himself in person and this is the icing of the cake as far as the trip to Disneyland is concerned ...

Ryan is already asking when he is going back to see his `friends' and Chenya is asking when she is going to "Ikneeland" to see "mikey moose".

I am foreseeing another trip to the happiest place of earth somewhere in the horizon and honestly, this daddy is looking forward to, to once again walk through her magical gates and be transformed and transported yet again .....

A break after this break

I was looking forward to come back to Malaysia this round for a short break because I needed one. I last came back in March 2013 to sort out the rental of our house and the sale of our cars. Well, you could say that I have only been away for a short 4 months. It is true but  4 months in a foreign land with no true friends to `lepak', 'minum' and chit chat can be rather lonely and stressful. I honestly desperately needed a break from my Beijing daily routine and monotony and I needed to be away, hopefully with a couple of days away from the kids (not that I don't love them any less) but to have some space to breathe, so to speak.

 

I thought I had that when Chenya, as arranged earlier will be with my in-laws for a week, while Ryan would be away for several days with them as well. At last, I thought I could go out to my usual hangouts back home in Malaysia for my coffee and hangout with some of my buddies of a couple of beers before heading back to Beijing for another couple of months.

 

 

However, I seriously do not think that that is going to happen this round.

 

 

Chenya has developed mild fever for a couple of days now and was told yesterday by my in-laws that she was having some dry cough. Ryan apparently missed me so much that he wants to come home.

 

 

So, I had both of them coming back to me last night and to make my task taking care of them harder, Ryan woke up this morning and told me that his cheek behind the ear is painful. I took one look and saw that it was swollen. My fear was that he has contacted mumps.

 

 

 

I took both of them to see my good old friend, Dr Liew and his diagnosis was Ryan has contacted mumps which will probably take a week to run it's course while Chenya has acute bronchitis and several medication to take. I need to bring her back to the clinic on Friday for a follow up.

 

 

So, there you have it. My next couple of days would be to take care of them, both down with something and Chenya, not feeling well, is becoming very clingy and `sticky'. This is definitely NOT the break that I was looking for.

 

Right now, my only thoughts and wish is that both would get well as soon as possible and that Chenya would not come down with mumps in the next couple of weeks.

 

 

I really need a BREAK after this BREAK!