The Girls and Nice Restaurants

Posted on | August 31, 2012 | No Comments

Maybe we’re lucky, but we’ve been able to take the kids to nice restaurants (places that most people would only go on anniversaries) since they could sit on a high chair. Even with Jovie’s pickiness, I never ask whether they have a kid’s meal or not. While I do ask what the kids want to eat for lunch/dinner (if I am cooking that is), when it comes to eating out, mom and dad gets to pick and they eat whatever is on the menu.

I remember when Emma was about Jovie’s age and I booked a dinner at a French restaurant. On the notes section I wrote: Two adults and one VERY well behaved 3-yrs-old. After dinner the owner stopped by our table and commented on how true I was about M’s behaviour. Not only was the owner impressed by M’s table manners, she was also impressed with the fact that we didn’t order a kid’s meal AND that M ate the escargot and cheeses. So for Emma’s good behaviour, the owner treated M to dessert.

Fast forward to a month ago when we were in Paris. I booked lunches and dinners at restaurants that food bloggers (well, mostly David Lebovitz) and Chowhound folks were clamoring about and the girls sat nicely throughout the meals (I think one was a two hours meal). Fast forward again to a few weeks ago. We were at a casual restaurant and in the middle of our meal, an elderly gentleman stopped by and praised us on how well the girls were eating and how great of a job raising them I did. That comment made my day and M (Jovie doesn’t get stuff like that) was pleased too.

Earlier in the year a book was published by an American living (or maybe used to live) in Paris: Bringing up Bebe. I haven’t read the book, but the WSJ article made me believe that if we were to live in France, our kids would just fit in. At least in terms of eating and playing.

What have we done to make the girls this way? Well, I’m not quite sure but we do the following when we eat (with special days here and there):

We always eat together as a family at the table
There’s no slurping (although I told hubby that in Asia, slurping is a sign that you love the food, but then he argued that we’re not in Asia)
There’s no chewing and talking
There’s no leaving the table unless you’ve been excused
We eat everything that’s served, even the yucky vegetables (or in M’s case: Fish)
We respect each and every food (so no food playing)
There’s no TV (and this is where the special days come in, we watched the Olympics opening while eating a few weeks ago)
We all talk about our day and whatever else that comes to mind (nothing negative or work issues – we save those for hubby and I time)
We practice our pleases and thank yous
And we do punish during meal time for table misbehaviors

They’re all pretty basic and I have to admit that without hubby, the girls wouldn’t be as good (he’s louder than me). It’s kind of cute too because when Jovie’s done she’d go, “Can I be excused?” and if I said yes, she’ll go off an play quietly until we finish or if I say no, she’ll just sit there and as long as I keep talking to her, she’ll be just fine.

There is one nice restaurant tip for toddlers/preschoolers. Always give them something to do, always interact with them, and give them something to eat that will last a bit. Jovie’s favorite is bread and butter, which most restaurants (at least here in Europe) serve.

Yes, she likes posing with her food.

Also, let the kids use the same glass and cutlery you’re using (sans real knife unless the kid’s old enough) and they will feel pretty special about eating with mom and dad at a nice restaurant.

Yes, she drank water from a wine glass, got her own gaspacho, and spreading butter on her own bread.

I did make a few projects too a few weeks ago. Presents for M’s twin friends. And matching cards. I enjoy a bit of stitching now and then and I always think that hoop art is just fabulous. I used Waltzingmouse’s stamps for the little girl and I just winged the rest of it.

250 Miles is Far!

Posted on | August 23, 2012 | 3 Comments

Back in Missouri, we used to drive a 430 miles route in one day. We’d leave the house at 5 a.m., have breakfast at a Cracker Barrel outside of St. Louis (225 miles and 3.5 hrs later), then a lunch stop 2 hrs later at Sikeston (Lambert’s – the only restaurant that throws their rolls), and then Mississippi (just a few miles south of Memphis).

A few months ago we were planning a trip up north, to the Hadrian’s Wall area. Hubby asked me how far it was and I said about 250 miles. His responds was: “Dang, that’s far! Can we split the trip up into two days?”

I had a good laugh after he said that and said, “Wow, you’re sounding more like a Brit!”. The reason was because a few days before that, my neighbour suggested staying the night half way there. She said more less, “I know you Americans are used to going long distance in one go but that’s a long drive here.”

According to Google maps, the drive from our place to the wall would take 5 hrs 15 min. That’s non-stop.

If you’re somewhat decent in math you’re probably thinking that the speed limit here is ridiculously slow. Or maybe there are no interstates. There are interstates (and the majority of our drive was on the interstate), and the speed limit is 70 miles/hr, BUT interstates/highways are not everywhere and roundabouts are scattered all over highways, county, city, town and village roads. Traffic jams are easier to come by around here too.

When we’re not in a hurry, I love driving two lane roads (the road next to the wall above is a two lane road). You get to pass all sorts of cute villages and towns and if you want/need to, you can easily stop to take in the scenery. But when you have a long drive, the two lane road brings the opposite effect: They can get stressful and tiring.

Sometimes I feel like a sorry driver. Breaking a 250 miles drive into two days. But, besides the drive, there are just so many things to see along the way that the breaks were always worth it, like Fountain Abbey below and all the little adorable towns near it. The kids appreciate it too since they can only look outside, talk, or nap when we drive — only on special occasions do I whip out the iPad, e.g. long ass traffic jam, me driving alone long distance.

So Many Places

Posted on | July 14, 2012 | No Comments

So little time.

I wish I can travel all the time. I know that bit of me overwhelms the hubby but goodness, there are too many things to see and I’ve only just scratched the surface. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do since I was about 10-yrs-old. By this age we were back in Indonesia and our travels were limited to our small island, Java. I missed the big trips that we used to do when we were living in the US. I wanted more Japanese food at a restaurant in Japan, I longed for the Hong Kong food stalls which flavors were just divine, I dreamed of going back to that beach restaurant in Hawaii and I thought of that crab, which was a lot better than the lobster, at Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco.

Hmmm… maybe I should rephrase the third sentence above… it seems like I have more “eating” memories than “seeing”…

Either way, I wish I can travel all the time!

The last two plus years I have been living in travel bliss. Even with a limited budget and vacation time, I have been able to travel to places I’ve always wanted to go in Europe. Not only that, I have been able to travel with people I love. They let me drag them everywhere and they try whatever weird food I said they should try (Jovie is still hard to convince though).

In a few weeks we will be going to a special city. A city that I promised M I’d take her to before we moved here. I can’t wait to go with them and show them around while eating some fabulous food.

I know life isn’t going to be like this all the time (and we’ve had our fair share of hard times). But while it is good, I will take advantage of it and let tomorrow be tomorrow.

À bientôt!

We Saw the Queen

Posted on | April 17, 2012 | 3 Comments

I am not one who gets excited easily about a celebrity. Even though I think Johnny Depp is pretty cool (and he’s only a couple hours away), I wouldn’t be screaming and jumping up and down if we ever bump into each other. I don’t wait around for famous people to pass by either. Sleep is too precious for me and if it’s cold outside, forget it!

But while in York (April 5th), Her Royal Highness Queen Elizabeth II was there too and by accident we saw her pass by (with nobody else blocking my camera). I got a couple good pictures of her and one was this:

I have another photo but this one shows all three royals inside the vehicle. Emma was standing right in front of me and even though I am almost sure the Queen was not specifically looking at us, it felt like it. We were just at the right place at the right time. No waiting or anything…

Here was York the next day. The sun didn’t want to come out and it was a bit chilly but still, a very beautiful ancient town!

Emma… M is well. BUT, she’s been difficult to photograph lately. Jovie on the other hand keeps asking for a photo. But the other day I caught this. A happy girl who just got her croquet ball through the hoop (random ball and random hoop).

And this, Jovie behind a chess board.

The card… I created the card using this week’s Waltzingmouse sketch. LOVE the sketch! Had so much fun creating this one piece!!

Take care and until next time!

Travel Time

Posted on | March 14, 2012 | 3 Comments

I love, and I mean LOVE, living in England. But, like anywhere else, there are a few things that I wish could be better. One in particular is driving time.

For the last few months we’ve been thinking about moving. I look regularly online, get email updates and have looked at a couple in person but so far: Nothing. Don’t think that housing is hard to find or that I am uber picky (well, kind of) but I want to move into an oooooold house with a garage, at least three double rooms (some houses here are advertised as five bedrooms but only two are decent sizes and the three are only for a single bed and a dresser), a lovely garden, super clean + updated toilets, gas stove, a good location (school, gymnastics and markets) and within 30 minutes of hubby’s work.

Right now we’re about 20 minutes, 12 miles, from his work and 50 minutes, 38 miles, from M’s gymnastics club. Even though it’s ok now, if Emma keeps loving gymnastics and continues to do well she’s going to one day go more often.

With all that put into consideration, I’ve been looking further north for a new place to rent. Hubby’s work is actually in the middle of our house and gymnastics right now and so a northern move would be an advantage to him in terms of mileage.

Here’s the funny part. No matter where I look, our drive will more less be 20-30 minutes for hubby and 40-50 minutes for the gym even though mileage wise they are significantly less. Unlike the US, there are not as many interstates and highways here in the UK. While US highways have a lower speed limit and have different booby traps to somewhat slow you down, they are a lot quicker than UK ones because there are no roundabouts every 2-5 miles for example. The other main reason why it would take us as long to get to work or gym is because the villages that I’ve been looking at, the ones we want to live in, are not near a highway exit. Actually, there is probably no decent villages that is right off the interstate. And most people will agree that driving through villages can take a lot longer than going via the interstate.

Here’s an example: Last weekend the hubby and I went on a date. We ate at this lovely restaurant 6.5 miles away from our home. It took us 18 minutes to get there. It wasn’t because there was city traffic, or any traffic, but because we had to go through different villages, roundabouts, and small two lane roads (even though the out of village speed limit is 60 miles/hr).

I’ve seen many cute cute cute places 15-20 miles away from hubby’s work but even though it’s 15 miles away, it can take 45 minutes to get to his work just because there’s no direct route and half of the drive would be through different villages.

Village driving is wonderful. I LOVE doing this. But when you’re in a hurry or just trying to get to and from work, you just want to hurry it up and get there.

I hope you like the page I have here today. I used the Scarlet Lime February Frugal Fab kit for this and really like how fun it turned out. Jovie loved it too. She absolutely loved the sea horse, which I knew she would {::SMILES}. Take care and until next time!!