Keeping kids engaged during lockdown isn’t so easy. But it forces us to explore outside our known boundaries and try some new things. I had planned an evening with my friend Jo, and since it turned into a Sunday evening we expanded it to a family affair and with that the pizza masterclass was born.
The good news from an activity standpoint is that there are activities spread over mulitple hours: creating the raw dough, preparing the pizza canvas, designing the pizzas, baking the pizzas, and of course eating the pizzas. And through it, we also learned: yes, yeast is a fungus like mushrooms, it likes to eat sugar and enjoys warm temperatures, and when you bake it into the pizza crust you don’t really taste it.
With the first campaign successfully under our belt, I am ready to further explore the potential of what pizza making can be (I am thinking steak calzones next!!).
I had gone to school today for reading (parents are invited every Friday to reach books with all the students) and Kai’s teacher asked if I wanted to stay for the assembly because Kai was receiving an acknowledgement award — an offer I could not refuse. So proud of Kai and what a great bonus to start the family weekend.
With a tip from Kai’s fellow classmates, we decided to book a ski vacation over the long Easter weekend at a resort in the Czech Republic. We didn’t know what to expect — what the hotel would really be like, would there be snow, and even if the snow was there would the skiing be good? It turned out that all-in-all is was a great facility to get this family on the path to becoming a ski family. It was almost too simple — the ski rental was part of the hotel on the basement level and then right outside the door was a ski school and a small poma lift to connect to the larger mountain (although our mountain was not connected so some of the larger ski areas in the valley). After a few days of lessons (in addition to a few from his stay in Japan), Kai took off literally. I could barely keep up. Teo also made his way onto the skiis and with the help of Chika even did a full run from the top. I was hard to be up at the crack of dawn to go back to work again, but the pride I felt for how well the family did made it just a bit easier.
So it seemed like the major work I needed to do to get my job situation and other things were taken care of, a long Easter weekend was coming up, and British Airways was having a fare sale. So there seems little reason not to jump over to see the family in Japan for a week. I think it was one of the better decisions of recent times, as we all had a great time and got to all relax outside the pressures of day to day life. And of course, there was lots and lots of eating great food. I am already looking forward to the next trip.
Teo has started walking. And yes, he has my ipod in his mouth. Power of Apple products?
Apologies for the long delay in posting. Both boys had gotten sick, and Teo was infected for almost 3 weeks. Now it seems like we may have finally crossed over with 2 normal healthy boys. Fingers crossed, as Teo needs to get his measles shot next week and then the long flight to Japan on April 6th.
It’s taken a couple of weeks to recover from the adventures and get to posting. While we did have some challenges, it was so great to spend time with family and friends who we can’t get enough of…
So we had a fairly smooth start (although Chika and I barely slept). Check-in went smoothly and we made it through the first flight without much issue. A nice break in Heathrow (a great kids play area in Terminal 5), and then had the perfect setup with bassinet for the flight. The kids even slept a bit. But by the time we descended Kai’s cold had stepped up and then Kai’s ears were hurting 🙁
All ready to fly
Enjoying some downtime in Heathrow
Seasoned Travelers
Season Travelers
We spent the next 2 days in Boston attending to our patient, but getting a bit of time to catch up with our friends there (even some shopping too). Luckily we had gotten an upgrade to a junior suite at the Westin so it was like a big indoor playground.
On Saturday we drove down to Mystic to meet the grandparents and had a nice (but windy!) day exploring the aquarium before heading to Foxwoods for our friend Cat’s wedding. It was a beautiful event at a winery, but still cold. Mom and dad watched Kai (who in just a few hours wore them out completelly, but we brought Teo to the event. He was a great trooper and slept though most of the event.
Cat & David’s Wedding
Cat & David’s Wedding
Cat & David’s Wedding
Cat & David’s Wedding
Shot from the balcoCat & David’s Weddingny
Cat & David’s Wedding
Less than 24 hours later we we off to NYC. As we checked into the new hotel in midtown, it began to feel a bit cramped after the luxurious space in Boston. But we got cosy and made do. Unfortunately now, Teo had gotten Kai’s cold. Which meant we ending up spending more time than planned in the tiny hotel room. Thanfully the boys didn’t mind as much as we did.
Fun in the Hotel
Fun in the Hotel
Fun in the Hotel
Fun in the Hotel
Fun in the Hotel
Fun in the Hotel
We did get out a little bit. Kai enjoy parks (especially Central Park) and we did get to see our friends and see the city.
With Sydney in NYC!
Catching up with the Hungs
Teo and Uncle Mike
Riding the luggage cart
Street Food NYC
Fixing the flat on the buggy
Street Art NYC
Thursday was the big event however, Kai’s first Halloween. This year was the year of Spiderman. And Spiderman got the royal treatment with his Cousin Sydney (aka Princess Kate) and together they conquered the neighborhood.
The next day we went with Grandma to the Please Touch Museum — the real world just for kids. A fantastic experience for Kai. And of course even though Halloween was over, he wasn’t ready to give up being Spiderman.
We spend the last days relaxing and enjoying good food at mom and dad’s house. By the end, it was hard to say goodbye, but we know we will be coming back again.
