Eeeeeeeew!

I have a link to The Sneeze on the right side of the screen, but it brings up the current page. I just have to share this with you. I always end up looking around nervously, as I realise that I am alone, looking at my computer, and p*ssing myself, laughing.

What made me think of that blog was the fact that Charlie decided that he didn't want the booger (how great is this - my English kids with their little English accents say "boogah" instead of bogie!) that he picked on his finger - so he gave it to me.

Artsy Fartsy

Remember this?
Well, now we have this, done on the computer:What more can I say?

Fashionista

It's funny - if I were to put together all the items from this outfit separately, I would never think they would go. But I think it may just be some innate thing young fashionistas have that enables them to throw a whole load of things together and look really of-the-moment. Move over Kate Moss!
Yesterday, she wore thisHer brother, on the other hand, is less inclined to have photos taken of his fashion sense (which is really my fashion sense for the most part, which tells us something.
although he did choose his outfit today, so maybe it is more him than me, as he had no problem posing for photos yesterday, when I made his clothes choices)

Cabin Fever

Yes, I've got it. After 3 weeks, it is really starting to get to me. This hotel/serviced apartment is lovely, but it's not ours. And the air shipment arrived last Friday, so boxes and boxes of kids' toys arrived...it is starting to take over - "The Attack of the Killer Toys!" Mwa ha ha ha haaaaa.....

The kids start school next Tuesday. I think it will be great for them to get back into a routine, and also to meet some new friends. So far, they've played with a couple of kids at the hotel pool, but nobody lasting.

Which brings me to Kate's new alternate personality - the FLIRT. It is as if someone flips a switch when boys are around. She goes from normal Princess Kate to Flirty Katie. Her whole demeanor changes - eyelids start fluttering, head starts tilting, dimples start deepening. It is actually a bit alarming - if she does this at 5 years old, what will we do when she's 15?!? This picture from her birthday gives you an idea of "the look".


I've downloaded a few pictures from my camera (finally). Here they are:

Views from The Peak



My two little chefs:




A couple of weeks ago we went to Discovery Bay for the day. Check out my beach babes. Notice the Daniel Craig pose....

I Could Have Made A Fortune

I should have bought shares in IKEA.

Almost every new bit of furniture (save our bed, which has to be custom-made) is coming from there. But they really have come a long way with regards to style. But here's another case of HK's misleading 'cheapness'...the stuff there is significantly more expensive than their British or American cousins.

I'm getting really excited about moving into our new place. While this serviced flat is definitely luxurious, there really is no place like home. And all your stuff. Plus, we keep taking cabs out there to use the playroom, or go to the nearby kids' place; here, there is only a pool. Although Kate has made a couple of (OLDER - six and almost eight!) boyfriends at the pool. Fortunately, they are only here for a couple more days, so we don't have to have 'the talk' just yet.

Result

Yay! We have a place!

I am very excited. I've mentally moved in our furniture and have an idea of the bed we'll have made. All we need now is our stuff.

How to Beat the System

Yeah, so we figured out that the best way to get served in Hong Kong is to have a screaming child. We were in the HK ID office for about two hours, having been passed several times over on our ticket number. Charlie had been sleeping in my arms the whole time, and Kate had been brilliantly patient. However, just as we were getting super pissed off, Charlie woke up and started screaming. Within 5 seconds we were ushered to a desk, our ID's processed and then we were done and out the door. I told James I was going to provoke Charlie every time we wanted to get ahead in a queue from now on!

Technical Difficulties

Please stand by - I am having technical difficulties. I got an iphone and when I tried to link it with the laptop it killed the laptop. Until I get the laptop fixed (it was Easter weekend so store openings were a bit sketchy) I can only post via iPhone, which is a bit less fluid.

So I think we have a winner with respect to the flat - we are meeting the landlord tomorrow to go over what needs to be done. And then I need to get a whole load of space-saving furniture! But it IS 4 bedrooms, and I think we can be very comfortable there. Plus the facilities make it a bit like a resort. I am going to have to get a calendar just for the guest room schedule!

Today the kids and I are going to the Science Museum and then James and I go for our HK ID cards. Pictures will have to wait tip the laptop gets fixed.

Joining the Rest of the World

So we have an offer in on a flat...wish us luck.

Easter weekend starts tomorrow and I'm trying to come up with a plan of action. Using the weather forecast as a guide, I am planning indoor and outdoor activities. I'd also like to try this, but I don't know how the kids will manage staying up past 8pm as they have been shattered every day so far. So we'll see how it goes.

Kate is sitting next to me right now, practicing her writing. What a swot. Now if only I could get her to maintain the same kind of enthusiasm for her reading! We read a book every day and some days she is all over it, some days she just sulks through the whole process.

I finally signed up to Facebook! Whew! Joined the 21st century. Within hours I had about 30 Friends linking up. And I can't stop searching for people - it has become an addiction in just a few hours. It was strange to see pictures of people I knew in college. They all pretty much looked the same! I feel like I've changed so much, and I even had a comment from one person that they hardly recognised me. I don't know what to think about that. I must look a lot better. Yep. That's it.

A New Chapter

Well, for those of you who don't know, we have now moved to Hong Kong! We arrived yesterday afternoon, and my new year's (uncapitalised) resolution is to update this blog with our new experiences in HK.

I would have done it earlier today but I've only just got to the point where the blogger website is not coming up in Chinese characters. Wish me luck that it won't repeat and I won't have to go through this every day.

Kate and Chi have been brilliant with this move. With all the upheaval, they have been cheerful, excited and ready for a new adventure. There have been a few tantrums and hiccups, but then again there are always a few tantrums and hiccups, so I can't really attribute it all to the upheaval. Although Charlie did get really upset on the last day when they packed up his chair and Kate's 'chair' (hers is the same as everyone else's but it happened to be the one she was sitting on right before they started to pack it). The movers had to put the chairs back until I took him off to preschool.

So we touched down yesterday around 1pm. Got to the 'serviced apartment' - what service! Cleaned 6 days a week, sheets changed 3 days a week...room service if you need it... We showered, changed, and then hit the streets. Well, the supermarket. If anyone tells you everything in HK is cheap except for housing, don't believe it. Five carrier bags of things like laundry detergent and basic food necessities cost over 200 pounds. I've gotta find a market somewhere.

We went to dinner at a nice Italian restaurant we went to when we were here in February. Te kids promptly fell asleep and we had to drape them over chairs while we finished our dinners. Then a quick, mile or so piggy-back ride back to the hotel and all were asleep. Until midnight. When all hell broke loose. Until about 4am, when the kids finally went back to sleep. They finally woke up at about 10:30am, after I had done two loads of laundry, showered, checked emails, did a few things on the internet....

Tomorrow we start looking at flats. Wish us luck! I am keen on a certain development as it has all sorts of bells and whistles, and, let's face it, if we're not going to live in the middle of things (i.e. Mid Levels) there had better be enough activities, facilities, etc. around us to make up for that. Unfortunately bells and whistles come with a price, so the luck being wished is that we can find a decent-sized place in our price range.

So on to Day 2 of the NEW ADVENTURE....