Because he knows that today is the day that matters

France celebrates Mothers' day on the last Sunday of May. Therefore for me this is the day that counts. Although I leave in a country that celebrates earlier in May, in my brainwashed mind, today is the day. 

And Wolfram always remembers.

I received lovely tulips today from him.

Thomas decided that the best way to spend Mothers' day is in my arms by being sick and refusing to sleep in his cot.

Oskar was intrigued by the tulips but did not get why today was Mothers' day again given he celebrated a few weeks back. I'm sure he would have had a different opinion if this was his second birthday :) 

Thomas is sick

It's probably just a coincidence that the week I stop pumping Thomas gets sick but it did happen.

He has been miserable since Friday night. Needless to say that Wolfram and I had little sleep the past two nights.

I know it's time he fights germs by himself, but it would have been nice if it had been in a few weeks / months. 

Three hours of crying this morning and finally he is sleeping on me. He must be exhausted. 

Let's hope he gets better soon. It's painful to see him like that. 

Constance

A letter came in the post. Nothing special you could say except when I saw the stamps.

There she was, Constance!

That is so incredible. I knew you could do that, I had never seen it.

Oskar opened the envelope and we found a card with a picture and a note.

In no time, Oskar had the card in hands and was explaining it was Constance. 

The card is now proudly displayed on the fridge. Oskar carefully put it there. 

Animal resort

When looking for things to do with kids in Singapore, the Animal Resort comes on the list. This was also the place Oskar was supposed to visit on a school trip last year but visit got canceled because of the haze.

With no French lesson this morning due to the holiday, I dragged everyone to the farm to see the animals.

Place is somewhere in the bushes of Singapore (yes, there are some). It's more of a local shelter for some animals than a fancy zoo. Bottom line, there are some animals (one horse, lots of birds, fish, rabbits, etc.) - nothing crazy - that you can feed for a few dollars. 

Oskar was first a bit scared by the running geese and the big horse but once he warmed up with feeding the pigeons, he really enjoyed feeding the rabbits and even dared to give carrots to the horse.

Not sure we will go again, but it was nice to try something different. 

And it got the kids tired :)

Finding a pharmacist in Singapore is not easy

All I wanted was to know whether there was any cough syrup available over the counter to relieve Oskar from his bad cough. 

It's one of those days when I miss home and a good pharmacy. 

Weird things are happening in my shower

I'm not sure I want to understand what's happening there.

(Yes, that's the 165g cow at the bottom)

Just like that

For a week now, after evening milk, we put Thomas in his cot and within 5min he is asleep. No crying, no fuss, no complaining. Just like that our little boy goes to sleep.

Some days if you carry him too long after his milk he actually complains and quiets down once in bed. It feels his parents are disturbing him rather than helping.

If I compare to Oskar, Thomas has always been easier when it comes to sleep. And he proved it again. While with Oskar there was crying and we had to stay in the room a long time until he would go to sleep, Thomas just minds his own business.

Those two boys will have a very different character as they grow up.

Until then, I'm grateful that Thomas sleeps so well. Because if he sleeps, I sleep too :)

Mother's Day celebration at school

Wednesday I found out that there was a celebration planned at school for Mothers' day. Somehow the memo got lost but luckily I could take the afternoon off on such short notice.

I arrived there at 3pm and was directed to the dinning room for an afternoon snack. Oskar was not there yet. When he arrived and saw me he was so happy that made my day. 

But there was more.

The school had planned for a little show. Oskar was to sing with his classmates. When I entered in the big room, they were rehearsing and I was so proud of him singing.

A little while later was the real performance so I got to see him sing twice. Technically three times but for one of the songs he didn't sing at all.

It was chaotic yet beautiful. I guess only a parent can be mesmerized by their own kid singing or dancing in the most disorganized manner. 

But love is blind, even more on your kid. So today I will remember that Oskar sang to me for the first time and I was so proud of him.

Later on we did an activity together and Oskar painted on a bag for me. He insisted in the bus going home, that it was for me.

This is the first handmade gift from Oskar. The beginning of a long series I hope.

A little trip to the bird park

There is no so many things to do in Singapore on a public holiday with kids. Especially if you want to do something special. Having done the zoo twice already with Oskar we decided for the bird park this time.

We got up early (now that's actually out normal waking time even on the weekend), had breakfast, changed everyone, packed half the house and a little bit after 8am the whole family was in a taxi. 

Thomas fell asleep quickly. 

Oskar was excited.

I was squeezed between the two car seats wondering if I had packed everything. 

Unlike our first visit, we did not cover everything this time. The attention span of Oskar is still short and he reacts more to big birds than small ones. 

Pinguines were a huge success.

The Lory loft were you get to feed the birds was not. Oskar got scared. Wolfram enjoyed very much having birds all over him. As for me, I was fine with one. Beyond that I had images of the move the birds popping up in my head. I was uncomfortable and that surely didn't help with Oskar. 

Ostriches were a big hit as long as they stayed away from him.

Oskar enjoyed the show while Thomas was eating. 

Oskar really enjoyed the playground with water while Thomas took a nap.