I love a rainy day when you have nothing planned. Hanging around home is a good choice instead of the last resort on a rainy Saturday.
To be fair we have been pretty busy. We took Scarlett to her weekly gym class this morning. She loves it and her two best buds were there too. They really do love playing together and it is good to see that Scarlett can hold her own with older, bigger boys. As she often does, she fell asleep in the car on the drive home so we continued driving to a mall to have some lunch and start our Christmas shopping.
We had our usual sushi lunch and as always it was delicious. The teka (tuna) maki was really good - so much so that I had to order another portion. I then managed to buy Scarlett a gorgeous winter coat and cardigan from Zara. New Zealand summers are not always that warm and we are heading back to Japan in March so the coat will be useful for both trips.
It
really is a cute coat and purple is Scarlett's favourite colour.
I was getting a bit frazzled so my lovely husband took Scarlett off for an explore while I had 45 minutes of reflexology. Bliss! I feel so much better for it.
We have spent the rest of the day just vegging at home. We have watched some figure skating on TV and Scarlett has been playing with her jig saws. These have become her favourite toys again after a few months of ignoring them.
Life is about to change for Scarlett. She is about to have her first session at a drop off play group on Wednesday. She has never successfully been left for anything. This is going to be a very interesting attempt as it is run at her gym by the teachers who she knows and loves. We are hoping to start her in pre school three mornings a week next year so this is the soft lead in. One morning a week for two hours. I know she can do it but she is a stubborn wee thing and if she decides she does not want to it could be a very long two hours.
We were not initially planning to send Scarlett to school of any sort next year but we both definitely need some time away from each other. She needs more socialisation with other children and more opportunities to learn. I just need a little time to myself. We have not been apart for more than a couple of hours since she was born and while I don't think I would change it we could certainly do with some separate time. Now if the principal of the school would just return my call so we can finalise that she has a place for next year we would be all set!
I hope your Saturday has been a relaxing one.
Bintan is our go to spot if we feel we need a weekend away. It is only 45 minutes away by ferry and the ocean is generally flat as a pancake (an important consideration for those with sea sickness issues...that would be me).
We always stay at Nirwana Gardens. It is not the flashest resort on the island but it is the closest to the ferry terminal (an important consideration when your 20 month old struggles to stay in her seat for more than 10 minutes), comfortable and right on the beach.
Scarlett loves it here. There are usually loads of children, a really big baby pool that is only 50 cm deep, lots of delicious food and the beach. Did I mention the beach? Scarlett is a BIG fan of the ocean.
We were really lucky with the weather. Sunday and Monday were beautiful and sunny but it did rain on Tuesday morning before we left. We still managed to get out onto the beach though for Scarlett to paddle and collect some sea shells. Scarlett was really keen to wear my hat to keep the sun off rather than her own.
It certainly did keep the sun off but I think hers was a little more appropriate.
The other thing that Scarlett loves about Bintan is that there are elephants there. At least 8 and very friendly ones at that. We spent a considerable time watching the elephants giving people rides. It was a really exciting time for Scarlett and we enjoyed watching her get so excited. She is still a little small to ride the elephants herself as there is nothing at all to hold onto.
We all came back from our two nights away feeling well rested and happy with our choice of destination. The next holiday planned is when Scarlett and I return to New Zealand for Christmas. Sadly it is a bit longer than 45 minutes to get there, and there is way less space to run around.
We are safely back home after a lovely couple of days in Bintan. We did have some internet access but it was pretty slow and so have not managed to blog while I was away.
We have some lovely photos and a few stories to tell but I am worn out now. We decided to make the most of unexpected mid week family time by visiting Ikea. It was fun but tiring and Miss Scarlett was seriously over it by the end. Hopefully I will upload some photos tomorrow and update then.
I had a great list of things we were going to do yesterday. We went to all the things listed but somehow things did not turn out the way I had hoped.
My biggest disappointment was that all the Richard the Third tickets worth having were sold out. The lady at Sistic was fantastic and really honest about what I would be able to see from the various remaining single seats. Her verdict - at $245 a seat she would want better seats. I really appreciated her honesty but I am super annoyed with myself for not getting tickets sooner. It has spurred me onto making a resolution for next year of finally finding a baby sitter and getting out with Tet at least once a month and every third date is going to be a performance of some kind. A girl can dream.
Sushi fell by the wayside yesterday too as everywhere we normally go had a massive queue. We ended up going to a lovely tonkatsu joint though so I was pretty fine with that. For those who have not had tonkatsu I would totally suggest you try it. It is breaded, fried pork served in the usual Japanese style with accompanying salad, soup and rice. The restaurant we went to only sells tonkatsu and it is really good. They also serve this amazing multigrain rice with beans mixed in. It is so yummy although Tet went for boring old white rice.
We also made it to Novena but Scarlett was very uncooperative when it came to looking at clothes so we came home empty handed on the clothes front. We did manage to add a new jigsaw and wooden abacus to her toy collection after a visit to Toys R Us.
Our bags are packed and Monkey has been endlessly asking when we go to the beach. She has been up since five so it has been a long day already! Thank goodness for coffee. I will attempt to post from Indonesia but will only have my Ipad so it may be brief. I love living in a place where I can get to two other countries in no time flat!
