Holiday...yeyy....

August 10-23, we were away from Jakarta, for a wedding and for big family holiday. it was sooo fun and Joice and Moses had so much fun everywhere we went. August 10, we arrived at Singapore and everybody was excited! didn’t have a minute to rest, we went to orchard road right way for dinner and sightseeing. The children were happy to run alongside of orchard road, we had $1 ice cream and dinner at Novena MRT before we went to orchard, we were so hungry that time. August 11, we woke up so early, Calvin bought us all yummy breakfast and we went to church at 8:30. didn’t know that the church was actually very close to the place where we stayed. The wedding of Martin and Lijia was sooo perfect, meant that the bride and groom were like the characters in movie of Cinderella. the prince and the princess. he heee, we had the cocktail party and lunch afterward at Ritz Carlton Millennia, the lunch was formal and nice. Then we met Shanty at next door mall. Marina square. Glad to meet Brayden and Bazyl. they were cute and Brayden is more talkative now. everytime I go to Singapore, I always find time to meet my old best buddy , Shanty and Collin and the children as one package he he. next time we meet, i think they will have more children than us. ha ha! then we had dinner again at this nice rest which i did not remember its name, uh oh, at ION in upper floor. they served very nice dumplings with many flavour varieties. nyammmm. we had dinner with ayi and Selvi, Gabe and Julie, my parents, and us all. That would be the last supper, tomorrow morning we all will off to Taipei. August 12, early flight to Taipei, 6:00 am we already arrived at changi budget terminal. yeahhhh first time experience with tiger promotional fare. the terminal was filled with India and Filipinos. and the flight was on time, even arrived Taipei earlier than scheduled time. we checked in at Keymans Hotel near taipei main station. our impression of this Taipei Main Station was old and big. yes its very huge. its not very clean enough but its cleaner than ours at jakarta. keymans was nice and perfect. we unpacked, took shower and strolled around the road. the food stall was a lot. we just grabbed the street snacks anywhere we liked he he. stinky tofu and other snacks were all enaaakkkkk. and cheap. we spent the evening at the underground mall near there. they opende maybe until midnight and so crowded. that night we were sooo tired that we all rested and slept like pigs. hahahahaha full and sleepy. August 13, had good breakfast at the hotel cafe. the menu were not many but they served sandwich and othere beverages. the mineral water in bottles were free to drin and take go. as indonesian we took some more for our trip later of course :)) then we headed to chiang kai sek memorial hall and other areas surrond it, the weather was perfectly HOT. you feel like burning when you walk outside. its summer. we did not bring any umbrella, but glad we did not, because this umbrella later will cause us much much much trouble of quarreling between my childre, sigh. then we went to taipei 101 from the tapei city hall mrt station. we took bus ride for only 10NT. the children took nap there. its cold and we had lunch at the foodcourt. the menu was enak also, owacien, fried beehoon and the meatball soup. they must put much vetsin. of course. its tasted so nice. we supposed to go up the 101 but it was still sunny and we wanted to go to Danshui. Danshui is at the edge of the city of Taipei. we took mrt for 35 minutes to arrive there, the cost was only 40NT for each person. the view was really beautiful. its like seashore and we could take ferry ride to Bali island, in front of it, or to the fisherman's wharf and lover's bridge. but we chose to Bali, because its nearer and its getting dark. we planned to have dinner across danshui. children had the tallest ice crea, hehehehe and its cheap (again). we back to hotel with sore feet ha ha, and tummy was full until head. so full...the old street sold snacks and gave food tester wherever we walked. August 14, we woke up and crossed to street to the bus terminal west station A. we were going to Yeh liu, after stinky bargain, we decided to go by bus, its more realxing than the rented car. they calcuated for hourly service yet we could not stop too long in one place. after lunch at yehliu, we took taxi to jiufen for only 180NT we arrived near the minsu at Jiufen. our luggage were at keymans hotel taipei, we only bring small travel bag, to spend one night at Jiufen. we stayed at Windsor b&b as many people recommended at internet forum. it was expensive, one night they charge 4,400 NT plus 1 kid, 300 NT but at least Joice had breakfast too for the next morning. we hit the old street and found unique things were sold there. the road was up and down the hill and they had a lot of stairs. we also had dinner at this strange food shop which the owner posed and hung the picture of herself. she was kind of actress maybe, and she's so confident. ckckckckc. the meatball was so so. just for a note, i had the Lu fan everyday i eat at Taiwan for 11 days. ha ha. they taste good and the kids like it too. plus the meatball soup. moses lovesssss the meatball soup with pork ball or either fish ball. he ate them all. back at the minsu, we just relaxed and enjoyed the view. the old street was closed early at 7:00 pm everyday. because the garbage truck only pass on that time everyday, so they had to close the shops at that time too. August 15, back to taipei by riding bus to Ruifang Station. there was one funny incident happened. my mom was mistakenly saw the train time. so we all rushed like crazy downstairs, which the trains had not come yet. it was funny. ha ha. then we bought the HSRticket to Taichung. it costs 700NT per person. At Taichung we checked in at Tomato Room in an apartment near Feng Jia university. the apartment was clean and big. after unpacked, we walked to Feng Jia night market which was famous with crazy cheap price, so we planned to start buying the souvenirs here. sure we should bargain to getr better price. that night, Calvin and I went out again after putting Joice to sleep. we had one more checking for the things he he and slept at 01:00 am. we helped the food stall to clean up, just kidding ha ha August 16, we packed again and headed back to HSR station and bought ticket from nantoubus to Sun moon lake. the trip was about two hours. the lake many people say look like danau toba, but its cleaner and more things to see around. it was rainning when we arrived so we rented bicycle to go to the bike trail alongside the lake. moses was sitting in front of calvin and he fell asleep during the bike ride ha ha. i was with Joice and she was soooo happy, then my parents also rode the bicycle. the view was magnificent. the most memorable thing for me was the egg roll. they sold for 50 NT per package of four. very delicious. the dinner was not nice there. the food were variety and expensive. the haf strange names in the menu. since i cant read mandarin to i could not choose also. finally we bought soup from 7-11 and bought pork rice again for dinner. we stayed at doris home. the place was so homy. the owner was really kind and helful. they even wanted to give us the umbrella since we did not bring one. August 17, the next morning the doris owner, serbed us with nice and yummy breakfast. it was an egg, salad, sweet potato and soya bean milk. extra bread and tea or coffee. self service. well done doris. i forgot to mention, their room was very clean and stylish. when you bathe in the bathroom , then you can be seen from outside, ha ha! and the decorations were full of cats, miauw! very unique and clean. after breakfast, we took the boat ride around the lake, which cost only 100NT because we bought from dorris home. we went to ita thao and shuenyang temple. a po cha tan was yummy near the temple. it only cost 10NT. after we back, we went to bus station and took nantou bus again bak to taichung then later bought HSR ticket to Kaohshiung. the trip to kaohshiung was about 1 hour also. it costs 790NT for each person. at kaoshiung we checked in at Sanduo Hotel near Sanduo Shopping District. the hotel was also self service, you could take as many as room service as you like. fromt towel to toiletries, very friendly hotel. they also rent the bicycle for free. we arrived at rainy evening and still decided had to go to Liu ho night market. glad that we went even its rainning. we got many things because of the rain, they discount many things. he he. We got the t shirts with cheaper price and and other souvenirs goods like pineapple cake and nougat. back to hotel again with sore feet and back pain. August 18, fresh in morning, we went to Spring autumn pavilion, dragon tiger pagoda and lotus pond. moses took very long nap so we take turn to walk around the pavilion. then we decided to go to Cijin island afterward. i made bad decision at cijin island. rentes the four wheels bicycle and its was soooo tiring to pedal and heavy. at the end we were too tired and took ferry back to the city again with two kids were taking nap. arraghhh... back to the city, we had dinner and shinjhong circle, near hotel. ooo very nice and cheap. the last night before tomorrow we will go back to taipei again. August 19, we had good brakfast at hotel then headed to see dream mall. not really big, and then we went back to station and took train back to Taipei. At taipei, we stayed at future star hotel near ximending. not pleasant service. we arrived at almost 11 pm and the lady greeted with ver rough and mean welcome,so we complained about her at the next day. the hotel location is very near to the crowd of ximending, so its perfect location. the room was not really bad, it just had renovation for the seventh floor. August 20, we planned to just go around the city, so we went to the National Palace Museum, but had chosen the wrong time, its burning hot outside, so when we need to walk from the gate to the museum, the road seem veryyyyy looongggg. But inside was not that bad, Joice could go inside the children’s gallery and tried Chinese games and other interesting games from the antiques inside museum. They even have cartoon with old stylish story. Impressive I think. After the hot burning, we decided to go to somewhere to cool up our bodies, we went to Carrefour to see the grocery and other households things. Carrefour there is also big, but not as huge as one in Jakarta, they sell things very complete and I bought many things for relatives and friends. From there, we did not get any free plastic bags so we brought the big box to go back our hotel by taxi, directly to ximending. Its not that far actually, only cost us 110NT from shuanglian to ximending. That night we spent much time to stroll around ximending and I hunted for some taiwan’s bags. Really like their material and design, not really cheap, but not too expensive either. We had best dinner at achung mee soah, very famous with the queue of course. And then had another supper at 365 rest near there. I love the food there, for me, all are tasty and delicious just lack of chilly  August 21, we were supposed to have another short trip to Windows on china but were cancelled because of hot weather. Instead, we went to Eslite 24 hours bookstore near the Fungxiao dunhua. Its big and they also have food court downstairs. I had chance to read one simple book, called chopstick. Kind of unique with the pictures that resembles a story. Children can to to their section also. We had lunch at the food court, not really special taste. After that, we went to wufenpu district which sells clothes in the whole blocks. Huge and not sold for retail. I didn’t get anything though, but I bought some children’s clothes which were very very cheappppp. Then when Calvin went to find his gadget thing, my parents and us waited near the Jiantan MRT to go to Shihlin Night Market later that evening. The kids were tired, and they took long nap. Shihlin was very crowded, they had many ‘strange’ food. It’s not too expensive but so variety. With fully loaded tummy, we went back to hotel….. August 22, the last day at Taipei. Since its hottt again, we went to the Living Mall, they claimed as the biggest mall in Taipei before 101 was built. I bought some things from Daisho, and the kids also took a nap there. The whole day was spent there actually. At night time, we went back with mrt and glad we could be safely back to hotel. The weather wasn’t really friendly with stronger wind, another typhoon was hitting the centre part of Taiwan. Glad that tomorrow we will go back to Singapore. August 23, we woke up and packed up all things, rode a taxi to Taoyuan International Airport, which cost for 900NT. We were too early but we worried about our luggage, so we decided to arrive early and arrange the baggage and other stuff. Looong queue for the counter of Tiger Airways back to Singapore. And after 5 hours flight, we arrive Singapore at 7:00 pm. We had nice bakuteh dinner in the famous shop just around the corner where we stayed. We even could have short shooping at fairprice. August 24, we woke up quite early because of the market mission. Planned to go to market and had breakfast there before we took taxi to harbourfront centre. Our flight with Garuda would be at 16:15 from Batam to Jakarta. We took the ferry ride at 12:30 from Singapore and arrived Hang Nadim Airport at 13:45. Checked in and the kids took nap inside the waiting lounge. Lucky that we chose Garuda as last flight before came home. The flight was nice with tv channels and food and extra drinks. He he! Bye bye holiday…………it was so excited and full of experience. I could not really type all the details. But the Taiwanese was kind of funy when you hear them speaking English. They trid so hard but I could not understand what they really mean hi hi. Calvin even got special experience with Shifu thing….Lol! We thanked God for this rare opportunity where all of family members could go abroad together and came home safely. The kids enjoyed the trip so much and we were extremely tired actually yet I like travelling, so its kind of new experience for me 

BFC mini farm

June 30th, 2012 we went to bfc mini farm at bintaro, owned by one of the church member that we have known for a long time. We were supposed to gather at 9 am there but one of the other, we arrived about 20 minutes later than that he he.... firstly, we watched a video clip about the farm that was taped in transtv, then we all headed to the rabbit's place, its some kind of a room with many cages, ?? do you say that for rabbit? they have big giant rabbit to the smallest one. after that' smelly trip' , we went to see the turtles and tortoises, we had chance to take a picture with giant and biggest turtle in Indonesia...wow...its gigantic! the children may brush the turtle's back with toothbrushes that have been provided, then each child may take a picture while riding on it. its big and Moses had a chance to ride it, Joice was pretty scared actually, so she just stood close to them. after that, we went to the lobster pool. remember that this is not the lobster from ocean hehehehe so its not that big in protion, they can be big buat not as huge as the ocean one. we all are allowed to get in in the pool and catch then put in one big stryofoam box. its just for fun....the lobseter later would be the souvenir to bring home, you may choose either lobster or fish. then the last stop was to see the hedgehog, they are sooooo cuteeee.... the hedgehog usually curly up their bodies when they feel afraid or unsecured, it looks like a ball of fur with two tiny eyes...super cute! and we may even touch and wash their furs. they can swim too! afterward, the kids have time to catch the rabbits. rabbitss were put in the ground and they all ran around to catch and put in the basket. tiring but very fun for them! last session was of course lunch time! the owner (cun cun) served the bbq lobster which costed rp 20 thousand for one, its about 100 gram each, and its delicious because of its freshness. before we went home, all of us, could bring lobsters and fishes home. waht an experience......Joice and Moses had so much fun there....

Bali second holiday

hfmd

hand foot mouth disease adalah penyakit yang sangat menular, nama beken lainnya adalah flu singapura. memang aslinya mungkin dari singapura karena mungkin itu awal mula epidemiknya penyakit ini. gejala yang paling jelas untuk anak-anak adalah sakit tenggorokan (sore throat), lalu pada anak di bawah 2 thn, akan terjadi panas tinggi tnp gejala apapun, lalu sore throat dan 3 hari berikutnya muncul bintik di kaki, tangan, maupun badan. Sumber epidemik di rumahku adalah Joice yang bawa dari sekolah. 1 temannya kena lalu setengah kelas kena dan bawa oleh oleh ke saudara2 di rumahnya. (bagoooosss). Joice awalnya tidak ada gejala, sampai 1 bintik kecil muncul di tangan lalu nurse di sekolahnya masih info kalau itu bukan hfmd. (grrr) dan ternyata dia sudah kena mungkin dari 2-3 hari sebelumnya karena masa inkubasi itu, lalu dia bawalah ke rumah dan di share ke moses. kejadiannya di bulan maret 2012 lalu. Moses menderita terparah. karena Joice hanya carrier, dia tidak ada masalah, hanya bintik2 sedikit dan tertawa tiwi seperti biasa. Moses nangis setiap saat, terutama malam hari. sariawan mendera 1 tenggorokan, waktu dibawa ke dokter, dia sudah kena sariawan 1 mulut plus tenggorokan, gara2 itu,mamanya juga turun kiloan krn ikut ga nafsu makan dan ikut begadang 24 jam juga, miris lihat moses nangis dan ga bisa makan sama sekali. 3 hari full moses cuman minum susu, itupun jmlh sedikit, sisanya dia minum segala cairan terutama yang dingin plus haagen daz. no other choice. hari ke 4, kita baru diinfo teman klo mycostatin boleh ditetesin di seluruh area sariawan, selama 3 hari moses nangis setiap telan ludah dan makan. he barely could eat anyway. obat yg diminum hanya antivirus (isprinol), yang sebenarnya tidak ada efek krn dia sudah terpapar virus, isprinol hanya menunda spy tidak lebih parah. tapi ternyata sudah telat, krn memang seluruh tenggorokan sariawan. poor moses. setelah seminggu, akhirnya moses makan seperti biasa dan setelah 2 minggu, bintik2 merah itu hilang. tapi ada beberapa bagian kuku yang untung ga sampe lepas, tapi hampir lepas. jadi seperti tumbuh di second layer. it was such an experience for me. tapi dari itu, jadi tau apa yg harus dilakuin terhdp virus hfmd ini. fiuh... berikut foto-foto untuk dikenang..........

Joice first-ever-movie

yes, my little daughter has moved forward again. She just had her first movie time, she sat nicely while she was also stuffing the poporn to her mouth. She watched her first ever movie: Madagascar 3 at blitz megaplex Central Park. We did not really plan it, since we both agree that nothing is that important to introduce the cinema to small kid. but she loves the movie so much, it does not have much violence and its a cartoon! So a day before, my brother helped me to book tickets for us for the next day. Moses was only 'endure' for the first hour, after pee poo thing, I should transfer him to my parents who are waiting outside. He does not care about alex and the gank. He wants to to go outdoor and touches dogs ha ha Joice was so proud to herself that she is allowed to watch in cinema, and she did not feel afraid. Last year, we all watched 3D movie at Bali bird park, she only survived for 5 minutes, the movie was Dora. And after that, we promised not to waste time to bring her to cinema again. so, congratulations Joice, you have stepped one more step to be older and wiser little girl he he. the name tags were given from school, it was her last day of school at Nursery 2.

miss my blog

I have been sooo busy lately and really miss those old times that I spend hours in front of computer while waiting for Joice to be dismissed from school. A few updates of my life in past months: 1. Joice is getting to k1 next month!!! I still remember the first day I held her on the day she was born, and now she's going to K1, arrrgghhhh, Joice....you grow too fast :) 2. My little Moses is going to celebrate his birthday next month too. woo hoo, welcome trouble two ha ha! this is also unbelievable, he is still a baby for me. this is called second-child-baby-syndrome. second child will always be treated as smaller child, even he's already grown up 3. I have the 'third' child near my house, its a tuition centre that was founded by my brother, and its called Thousand Sunny. I will have another story regarding this. But is chort, its a dream-comes-true place for me, its also part of my teaching passion, and its where I spend most hours there and related with may parents and little ones and big ones too he he. its a super place that I really pray, it would be a channel pf blessing for every kid. Look always to positive side, its a good side job plus its a good place to share gospel. you can be a living example and be the one who the children 'worship' as an idol ha ha, just kidding. anyway, you have plenty time to slip in the good news in the way you teach them by knowledge and automcatically by character too. Its a tuition centre and welcome every child to join in. 4. I am getting to be more patient lately. thats a good sign for my heart and blood pressure :) wahahaha I can't wait to post more pictures !!

tuition

every parent that I know right now is putting their children in tuition class, whether it is mandarin, english, drawing, ballet, music, etc. for Joice, her father and I don't or maybe have not decide in which area that we should put her in tuition, maybe soon one day id she does not want to obey and follow my instruction for her in doing homework, somehow I will put her in tuition class, sigh.

what is actually the reason for each parent to put their children in tuition anyway? after a long survey around friends, neighbors, and relatives, simpoly the reasons are the children dont want them (parent) to teach at home and they seek more new experiences and knowledge out of school context. which mean, they think with the tuition it will help children to master the subject deeper, thats true. I agree. but still i have the slight feeling and guilt to think that i should put Joice in tuition centre where i, myself, is a tuition teacher! yaiks...and now Joice is getting older, she knows how to say no and argue with me to do her other homework, except from school. i am fully realize that she's just only 3 years old, compare to her friend that already celebrated their 4th birthday at school. however, i remember vcaguely when i was her age, i went to tuition too and i begged my mom to put me in prechool earlier than other kids. yeah i loved school so mouch back on that time, ha ha, not now (hihi)

so at the end of long discussion with mw own inner (mad) thinking :)> i decided to put her in crayon class trial for this wednesday, in my opinion, she might pratice her writing pressure with her hand (motoric skill) and she learns to combine colors and use her imagination widely. she is lazy to color, and she can't choose the colors, she would color whoever faces with purple! he he and skin and all clothings and shoes with one same color! maybe its her age, i am not sure about this, so i saw the class once and think she might want to try.....and they also teach to paint and color with crayon. one method that i like from hadiprana art centre, they dont have a handboook for the kids. the kids may draw and color without any dotted line and a formal book. not like global art. so it will span their creativity area

lets just see what will be happened this wed anyway...he he.....many people ask me to put her in mandarin lesson or english, yet i still think that i am not expert in mandarin but i still can teach her some of that strange scratches in mand he he....my back up is my parents, they can come over in weekend to teach Joice anyway ha ha! saved by the grandparents