Kirst Afloat

When He's Ready

James has always been a "he'll do it when's he's ready" type of kid.  The obvious example that comes to mind is talking (which he didn't do until nearly 3.5 years of age).  However, I don't think talking is that accurate of an example as there seemed to be other issues complicating the fact.  (James couldn't copy facial expressions, blow bubbles or drink out of a straw...) 

It is very true with many other endeavours.  The most recent is tennis.  Last year, James began tennis lessons and was surprising uncoordinated.  The most frustrating bit was the fact that he could not hold a racquet properly.  He had trouble copying the correct grip and then swung at an extremely awkward angle.

Both Claire and James spent two half days in tennis camp towards the end of the summer.  James had a FANTASTIC time.  Both children were back at their lessons at the beginning of this month.  And, WOW!  James is finally coming into his own.  All of a sudden, effortlessly (or so it seems), James is swinging properly and is developing quite a nice forehand AND backhand.

On Saturday, he worked with our favorite coach, Stephen So.  There was one other boy in the group that day as well as two younger girls (who were very new---perhaps even "first lesson" new).  James was the star of the group (at least for the day).  At the end of the lesson, two sets of parents came over to me and complimented James on his skill.  I was a proud mother at the time although his skill developed over a period of time AND it really wasn't due to anything that I personally did.

I will post photos tomorrow (when my laptop is connected to the internet).  After his lesson (and back in the marina), James models his new tennis clothes.  He also wanted his picture taken with Mariz, our wonderful helper.

Only 4 more days

Until completion...we should have the keys to our new flat on Friday!  Very exciting.  Tom and Neg will be painting over the weekend and we hope to move in by the end of the month.  There is a spreadsheet of when items will start being delivered.  We are all ready to move. 

Stanley, here we come!

A Flat with a View II

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Originally uploaded by KirstAfloat

A Flat with a View

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Originally uploaded by KirstAfloat

Successful Saturday

It all began with a 6:45 awakening by James who was UP!  I was hoping that he would crawl into bed with me and drift off to sleep but, alas.  That was just not in the cards.  A few minutes before 7:00, I gave up and said, "Isn't Scooby Doo on about right now?"  (This would be the Tom solution to children who wake you up early.)  We went upstairs and I was right.  James happily lay on the couch and vegged out to SD. 

By 9:05, Jame and I were at the club for his tennis lesson.  Dave, an Australian coach, is very enthusiastic and works well with James (who had a great time).  I was able to go have a coffee and read the paper for a bit before catching the second half of the lesson.  (I'm not sure if Dave is James' permanent coach or not.  I introduced myself to him after the lesson and said that I'd see him next week.  He didn't seem certain that he'd be there.  I hope that is not the case.)

By 10:10 I had dropped James off in the marina, collected Claire and was heading to Karrie's house for piano lessons.  Poor Claire had barely practice at all this week (due to illness and the fact I wasn't home to help her).  It showed.  We will do much better this week---the countdown is on for Claire's Grade 1 exam on October 28th.

By 11:20, we were back in the marina.  Mariz and James jumped into the StepWgn and off we went to Hang Hau.  Mariz had errands to run.  The kids and I took the MTR to Diamond Hill.  We were on a mission to buy Pilly's (it's a Muldowney children obsession, I'm afraid) at the Uji store in Plaza Hollywood.  But first we headed to Food Republic (great food court!) for lunch.  Claire chose congee with minced beef, James wanted Pizza Hut (located just outside of the food court---I ordered take away and had them ring once it was ready) and I had Korean (stone pot mixed rice and a side of kimchi).  We all had fresh watermelon juice.  Yum!

We then went to Uji, purchased the snowbean pillows and walked the entire mall.  We did not find sneakers with velcro for James.  No dressy shoes for Claire's piano exam, either.  Claire asked on our return trip if we could go to a Japanese department store to look for robot pets.  Thus we headed to Cityplaza in TaiKooShing.  No robot pets but James but a G-Force Training Centre toy (what a pain to put together) at Toys R Us.  Claire later bought two Sylvanian Families animals.  We all had gelato at XTC (Hong Kong Milk Tea flavour was quite good) and we found a Geox store.  Success!  James has new trainers with dragons (or dinos?) which light up as he walks.  Claire has a beautiful black pair of flats.  (Very expensive---she now fits into adult sizes here.)  The sales people at Geox were outstanding.  I hope they work on commission as they then were on a mission to find a pair of shoes for me.  It was quite amusing.  I tried on a purple (much prettier than that sounds) pair of flats and the corresponding black pair.  They then brought out the matching pair of shoes to Claire's.  I caved in the end and purchased a black pair (but not the same as my daughter's).  My bank account took a serious dip after that venture!  It was very fun, though, to watch Claire become a mini Imelda.  The salespeople brought out three boxes of shoes at a time and Claire had a blast.

After heading home, we hung out.  I put together James' toy.  We played a Wii together, had a simple dinner and were all in bed by 9pm.

What a week!

Whew...glad it's over.  The Middle School had "Back to School Night" (otherwise known as "Parent Night") on Tuesday.  My partner and I were finishing our PowerPoint at the last minute.  We had technical difficulties-her projector went black and then we saw the dreaded words, "Replace lamp".  This occurred five minutes before our parents were supposed to arrive.  Aiii-yaaa!  After some intense praying, the bulb began working again (to our relief). 

The first 10 minutes were spent with our PCG (Pastoral Care Group) parents.  This went well.  The parents especially enjoyed seeing photos of their children.  We then opened up the dividing wall between classrooms and we presented as a dyad.  This part went especially well.  It turns out that one of the guys I played hockey against last season is the father of one of our students.

Then came the dreaded (at least by me) curriculum time.  I spoke way too fast and misplaced my notes before beginning.  I finished five minutes early and was flustered.  Hopefully most parents remembered the beginning part and not the ending.  :)  Next year will be easier as I will have taught all of the units before speaking about them.

Wednesday and Thursday night I worked late and then headed over to Repulse Bay.  Wednesday night I went to Lower Primary to meet James' teacher.  Thursday night was spent at Upper Primary in Claire's classroom.

Another challenge this week was Claire's continued illness.  The poor kid had been unwell off and on for over two weeks.  On her third visit to Matilda, Claire had a blood test.  (The process was unfortunate, I'm told.  The nurse did not do this procedure quickly and matter-of-factly.  She stressed Claire out for over 15 minutes and Claire become more and more upset  Not good.)  Claire's blood test came back negative for glandular fever and her white blood count was normal.  End result:  Claire returned to school today after missing more days than she has attended. 

By the end of this week, I'd say that James has settled into a routine at his school.  It's still an ongoing process for Claire.  I am feeling much happier now, though.  Happy children make for happy parents.

Soon to Be "Kirst (Sometimes) Afloat

We're moving!  Working in Tai Tam with the kids going to school in Repulse Bay has been challenging.  I've commuted from Clearwater Bay to Tai Tam before.  Without kids, it is do-able.  However, it's not fair to the kids at the moment.  We have to leave the boat by 6:20, park at the high school, walk down to the middle school field to the bus.  It leaves somewhere between 7:10 and 7:15.  The bus then winds it way around Tai Tam before heading to Repulse Bay.  My kids are spending hours each day on the commute and it's been trying.  (That's assuming that I actually leave work around 4:00---something which seldom occurs.)

Thus we went flat hunting and were able to procure a flat which we LOVE!  We will be living right in Stanley.  The flat has a wonderful feel to it and the original floors.  (I LOVE the old-style Hong Kong floors.)  There are three bedrooms, a living and dining room, kitchen, and helper's room/toilet.  Two other bathrooms (one ensuite).  We're all getting excited.

I have photos but they are on my laptop.  Will post later.

We'll still have the boat and most likely will be here on Fridays and Saturdays.

:)